Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of boliviainteligente on Unsplash

We just closed out another year. 2024 is now in the books, not necessarily fully completed, intentionally concluded, or adequately fulfilled.

It is done. Over. No going back. No redos.

We celebrate worldwide the ending of a year and the beginning of a new group of 365 days. A clean slate. Unique, untried opportunities awaiting us.

I find it interesting that the year may be new, but when I get up in the morning, it’s still my face I see in the mirror. There isn’t anything new about me, except for being another day older. I haven’t changed overnight or revised the scope of who I am with the passing of another day.

I wish it was that easy.

photo courtesy of Annie Pratt on Unsplash

The idea behind a new year is a chance to start fresh. People make resolutions and vow to change this or learn that, attitudes that typically last a few weeks at most.

We all live in that liminal space, the in-between space that sees us occupying what has been and what we want to be. The distance between our dreams and reality, that transitional period that moves us from what we are to what we hope to become.

I don’t question the desire to change, to resolve to do something new or become better. It’s human nature to want to improve who we are when we honestly look at what our lives have produced in our recent past.

Nobody is perfect. Life is a process of growth that gives us choices how to move forward. Or backward, if that’s our desire.

Nothing is really new. Sure, we have new technology. New ways of doing things–but it’s really the same old things. History itself is cyclical, not linear. Humans make the same mistakes over and over again–different settings, different people, the same issues.

Solomon said it clearly:

“History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, ‘Here is something new!’ But actually is is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-11.

If nothing is ever new, why do we try?

Being people with an intellect, emotions, and a will gives us the chance to make intentional changes in our lives. What we lack is the fortitude to maintain change. When change or challenge come into our lives, we tend to default to what we’ve always done before because it’s easier to respond the way we’ve learned. We have people in our lives that know us and expect us to act a certain way. Our life companions often influence old behaviors rather than encourage new ones.

Creatures of habit.

We need help to maintain change. Some call it accountability. Others understand it to be strength of character.

Jesus saw it differently.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a NEW PERSON. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

How is this possible? When a person comes to believe in Jesus to provide the payment for an imperfect life, His Holy Spirit lives in us, strengthening, teaching, correcting, and leading us. We give Him our problems and anxieties and in return He gives us peace and rest.

We each get to choose our life paths and the companions we wish to accompany us.

Choose well. It is, after all, a new day.