NEW!

There’s something about “new.” That sigh-inducing new baby smell.  The intoxicating fragrance of a new car fresh off the showroom floor or the rich “aahhh” aroma that whooshes from of a can of good coffee just as the can opener turns (true even if you don’t actually drink the stuff!).

Who doesn’t love a stylish new outfit, a sparkly new piece of jewelry bestowed by a sweetheart or the anticipation of cracking open a new tome by your most favorite author?

It seems that people are always  anxious to try that promising new weight loss diet, sport the latest and greatest new fashion trends or wait in line for hours to grab the newest, most action-packed video game that everyone’s just got to play.

But sometimes “new” is hard.

“People are very open-minded about new things - as long as they're exactly like the old ones” said Charles  Kettering. Think about what happens when the boss announces a change in the health care plan at work (“ouch” to the wallet!), new procedures to be implemented on the job or even complicated new computer programs that must be learned.

Back in 1997 that was so true for me. I’d been my church’s sole office employee since 1986 and had managed to escape the inevitable computer age—at least until two months before my family was scheduled to make a move and my job there would end. The powers-that-be bought a computer and I was supposed to use it. What? Me? I don’t know how! Oh, dear! We’d gotten along just fine for all these years with the typewriter and couldn’t we just continue for a few more weeks until I’m gone and it’s the next assistant’s “problem?” The answer was, no.

Times, they keep “a-changing” and whether or not we like it and adapt easily or not, we do have to keep up with them. And ultimately I did, though those times were frustrating  times and tearful at even more times! “New,” in that case, was necessary—and in the end, as it often is, good for me

Every January we think about “new.” Said Michael Josephson, “Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New Year will bring new opportunities.” And this reminds me of a Bible verse I memorized long ago: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (NLT).

If I belong to Christ, I am a new person. My old life is no more and a new one, aided by Christ, has begun. When I became a Christian, Jesus didn’t just fix my heart—He gave me a new one! I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do His good works. I wonder what’s on my new 2014 to-do list for Him!

Happy New Year!