The evening went well into the night. Funny conversations, experiences, singing, and discovering new personalities were memories in the making for everyone involved. People who did not know each other were well into a journey of friendship and shared experiences. The final nightcap surfaced new levels of embarrassment as “American Pie” echoed without the benefit of a piano through the silent and fortunately near-vacant hotel lobby.
This morning came too early and quickly. The short night gave way to a cloudy dawn sky and low tide. The haunting questions surfaced. Are my actions of yesterday going to carry with me today? Do I need to explain or clarify my stories and song? What about my decisions? Where is my start point?
I want to believe that today is fresh and new. I hope that I get a clear and clean opportunity to win. I wonder what today will bring, especially given what happened yesterday. The challenge rests in the memories, experiences, and debt baggage that I carry with me. What do I do with it? How do I handle, address, or let go?
In my relationships at work and with the people in my network the baggage seems locked through a tight chain. No matter how much I move on, try to clean the slate, and work towards new relationships the past continues to shape the future. My starting point is deep and buried in the past.
God offers me something very different. God starts fresh every time I come to the starting point. My actions of yesterday carry a debt that God offers to take free and clear when I come to a new beginning. Paul found himself facing the same question. He response echoes my experience.
“We don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent.” (Romans 8.12)
You and I have clean slates waiting for us to spring from. We can shed the baggage of yesterday when we start fresh with God. God is willing to do this as much and as frequently as we want!
What a great place to start!
