I’m an organization freak, a bit of a control freak...and I LIKE plans! I might even go so far as to say I NEED to plan! There should always be a PLAN! Last week I wrote about feeling lost and off balance as life takes on new beginnings. I’m not quite sure what God has in mind or how everything fits together as I start a new life in a new town with my new husband. I was having difficulty connecting with God, felt as though life was unfocused and I was drifting – there was no plan. This was so not good!
New beginnings can be positive in the form of a new marriage, a new relationship, a new baby, a new job, a new ministry or they can take the form of more distressing events such as the death of a spouse, child, other family member or friend, the loss of a job, the breakdown of a relationship or marriage or the bad news of a life threatening diagnosis. Whichever the case, there’s always some stress associated with new beginnings because the term “new beginnings” is simply a sugar-coated way of saying the big, nasty word, “change”...and no one likes to deal with change!
This week I felt compelled to start reading the Bible again from the beginning. (Oddly enough, despite my love of structure and order I don’t follow a “Bible in a year” reading plan. I simply open the Bible and start reading just as I would any other book.) I also attended a presentation by Rev. Mike and Lisa Plunket, who were guest speakers at Spruce Grove Alliance Church. One of the concepts Mike Plunket introduced was this...”when the paradigm of your life shifts, everything goes back to zero”. He went on to explain that any time there is a major life change everything in your life needs to be re-negotiated in light of that change. How very true this concept is. New beginnings are a time of re-negotiation, of re-discovery, of re-invention, of re-creation. Genesis starts with the story of creation. For six days God creates earth, sky, land, sea, plants and animals, day and night out of nothing. He starts from the beginning, creates and makes things new, and then after six days of creation He rests.
Perhaps those of us out there struggling with new beginnings, whether positive or negative, should take a lesson from the God of creation. Use the early stages of your new beginning to lay the foundation for your future. Use these days to organize, to create, and to clean up your life. Set the tone for what God has in store for you in the future. Use it as a time of preparation, perhaps a time of healing. And remember, on the seventh day God took a rest. Spend quiet time with God and allow Him to reach deep into your heart to comfort, heal, restore and make new. If you find yourself with free time on your hands use this to rest and rejuvenate.
I guess sometimes we have to let go of our need for “the plan”. If you’re anything like me the mere thought of life without a plan is, well...just WRONG!! But I think this is where we need to release that desire for control and “go with the flow” for a while. The time of new beginning may be a time of preparation as God moves you further than you could ever imagine into larger territory and service. Personally I’d hate to miss the opportunity to serve God in some larger way simply because I had to follow my “plan”!
Are you in a time of new beginning? If you’re comfortable sharing please tell me a little about the new beginning you’re experiencing by clicking on "comments" below.
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