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.