It is natural to think of new beginnings. I often seek new starts, especially when I am on the edge of despair. The first step is automatic; a fresh session of cleaning and organization. What comes next is often, for me, more difficult. What do I keep of the past instead of discarding? How do I learn from what I have been through? Is there a way to move forward with confidence?
I find others struggling with questions that sound eerily familiar. As I read the news reports and reflect on the various blogs, it seems as if individuals across cultures, geographies, and situations are coming to terms with the same list. How should and will we have a new beginnings.
History notes that there are good ways and bad. Often, those who are different are the victims of an attack. One king needed a fresh beginning, “that's when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members.” (Acts 12.1) His targets were not he source of his problem or the solution.
We, individually and as a community, face problems that seem beyond our ability to comprehend or solve. Candidly, most do not know what to do, but we know we need a new beginning. I do not have the solution for the world economic ills or the fear that has a grip on our lives. I would suggest that however we decide to begin anew as a community that there will be common threads to how we respond.
First, we can embrace the idea that individuals can make a difference. We, individually and corporately, can be instruments in making the world a better place.
Second, there is far more that binds us together than separates. We share the same needs and wants at those in our community. We harbor similar fears, uncertainties, and doubts. Our thirsts and ideals, even views of God, share a common foundation.
Third, we affect others as well as our souls. We touch. We lift. We are carriers of hope.
Today is a new beginning.
