All creation groans for a new beginning, and here we have January—the clean slate of new calendars and new planners and new expectations. The two week period after Christmas, when we take down the tree, pack away the Christmas decor, give everything a good cleaning and prepare for a new year, is my favorite.
Often my own groanings are more about regrets and missed opportunities, though, rather than an earnest expectation of glory to come, and a new year can look like the false hope of The Year We Finally Do Things Right.
The trap is in thinking that new equals better, that starting over fresh will create an opportunity to live failure-free. When I wake in the night with the crushing burden of all my shortcomings—some of which are real and true and some of which are just the enemy’s rummaging through my garbage—the way out of the trap is not to develop a new plan or system or list, though I try.
The way out is only ever through Jesus.
