Happy New Year

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

A brand new day, a brand new year, a brand new chance to start over... I was thinking this morning of the gift of salvation and God's offer to us, an offer to start new, to have a clean slate and a brand new heart. Every morning is a gift from Him, another new start of sorts.

James and I went for a walk in the orchard across the street this afternoon. The trees are bare, the ground wet and muddy. Usually at this time of year the ground is covered with a blanket of snow, the tree branches cold and naked, waiting for springtime. I thought it interesting how God has His own way of taking what is old and making it new each year. In order for the new leaves and fruit to grow next year, this year's leaves and fruit have had to die. In a way my life is the same. In order for God to produce new fruit in me and make me continually useful, I have to let go of the old. Old things need to die to provide room for what is new. My prayer this year is that I will let God work in me what He desires to do, to remove the old and dirty and replace it with what is fresh and clean.