Making Old Things New

I have spent a lovely afternoon making all things crafty. 

 

I love taking old things and giving them a new lease of life.  I love finding new things to do with them: painting them, decorating them, embellishing them, unpicking them, restitching them, reshaping them.  The list goes on.

 

There has been a trend in recent years for 'upcycling' (improving and 'prettifying' old things), and creating gifts and crafts from old materials.  And many gift shops and websites have sprung up which celebrate this process.

 

I love creating something, but I especially love it when I am taking something old and am giving it a new lease of life.  There is something really satisfying in giving new life to something which appears 'past it', or which appears to have no real use.

 

I love making things new.

 

I think that God understands this and feels the same.  He is Creator God, but He is also Recreator God.  In Revelation he says,

 

“I am making everything new!” 

[Revelation 21:5 NIV]

 

No matter how 'past it' we may feel, no matter what we have lost along the way, no matter what state we are in, He can make us new.  He unpicks us and restitches us, He cleans us up and gives us a fresh coat of paint.  He gives us a new lease of life.

 

He makes us new.

 

 

 

Letting Go

I've just been watching the film 'The Wedding Date' which I haven't seen before. 

 

At the beginning of the film, the main character - Kat - is struggling to hand over an envelope (containing some flight tickets) to a messenger.  They tug the envelope back and forth between them for a couple of minutes, before Kat finally says, "I'm trying to let go, but I might need some help."

 

The messenger eventually physically removes Kat's hands from the envelope, so that she can let go.

 

Sometimes I know that I am trying to let go of things, but I need help.

 

I need someone to step in and remove my hands from the things that I'm holding on to. 

 

Sometimes I hold on to things because it is comfortable and familiar and safe, even though there is no life left in them.  But whilst I am holding on to these things and my hands are full with the past, I am unable to receive anything new.  I am unable to look to the future with excitement and anticipation.

 

Isaiah spoke about the need to let go and look to the future:

 

        "Forget about what’s happened;
        don’t keep going over old history.
        Be alert, be present.  I’m about to do something brand-new.
        It’s bursting out!  Don’t you see it?"

 

        [Isaiah 43:18 MSG]

When we fix our eyes and our hearts and our attention on the things we're holding on to, when we keep going over old history, we miss what God might be doing right now.  We miss the new things that He is bringing to life.

 

Sometimes we have to let go in order to let God release new things in our lives. 

 

 

 

Fresh Start

This afternoon, I went to watch the new Batman film. 

I really enjoyed it and there were lots of things that stood out for me.  However, to avoid ruining any of the twists if you have yet to see it, I will keep my comments short and spoiler-free.

One of the main things that I found really significant was how one of the characters is completely driven and motivated by a desire for a fresh start and a new identity.  And she will do anything to achieve this.

She is so desperate to wipe away the trace of her past and who she was, that she will stop at nothing until she has got what she wants.

Her desire for a fresh start and to be able to wipe the slate clean is one that we can all empathise with.  We have all done or said or been things with which we're not especially proud.  We all have, as Lord Grantham says in 'Downton Abbey' "chapters we'd rather keep unpublished."

And the good news is that when we put our trust and our hope in Jesus, we are given a fresh start.  We are made new:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

[2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV]

Whilst we receive a brand new life the moment we turn to God, we are always in need of another fresh start and another fresh start and another fresh start.

And with Jesus, if we ask, there will always be a new beginning, a chance to wipe the slate clean and to start over:

          "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
          for his compassions never fail. 
          They are new every morning."

          [Lamentations 3:23 NIV emphasis mine]

I love this prayer of David for a fresh start and new life -

         "God, make a fresh start in me,
         shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life."
         [Psalm 51:10 MSG]

We all long for a fresh start, but we don't have to pursue it with all that we have.  We simply have to ask.