Happy New Year!

by Susan

I had planned to spend this evening with my three oldest grandchildren. It was the first time ever any of our passel of ten were going to be allowed to stay up to ring in the new year, and so I invited them over to my house. We thoroughly messed up the kitchen by decorating gingerbread men and played some games before breaking open some snacks and Chubby pops. When it felt like things were dragging a bit and we still had a half hour to go, I decided to take them next door where they have all the comforts of the modern age, including satellite tv. We don't watch enough television to make it worth the cost of the monthly charges. And if there's anything we really want to watch, we can just go next door.

So next door we all traipsed at a quarter to midight and let ourselves into daughter Beth's house, where they get their money's worth in what they spend for television signals, I assure you. :)

I explained the countdown in the corner of the tv screen to the children and settled myself into an easy chair to watch it myself. There was a huge crowd in Niagara Falls, gathered together to listen to an outdoor concert and to celebrate the exact moment when the calendar changes to a new year.

As the camera panned the huge crowd that had gathered, I also thought about Times Square and the huge crowd gathered there. And Toronto's City Hall. All over the world people were gathered here and there to celebrate the turning of a page on the calendar. Why? I wondered to myself, "What's the big deal?"

"For the former things have passed away... Behold I make all things new..."

The familiar words from Revelation popped into my mind. Of course. It's a chance to turn away from the past and start a whole new page, not just on the calendar, but in our lives. It's a universal desire that we all have. To start over. To begin anew. Of course the whole world would want to come together and celebrate that. There is a deep desire in all of us to have the former things wiped away and to be granted the opportunity to start again completely fresh.

So happy New Year, dear friends and readers in blogdom. May God grant to you this year, the deepest desires of your hearts. May we all fully experience the wiping away of "former things" in our lives, of all that is holding us back from completely loving and trusting Him, and to completely comprehend and accept the making of "all things new".

God bless 2010. God bless us every one.


Comments

Suz said…
What a wonderful post. "..I make all things new..." I have wondered for days at the tingling feeling of anticipation in my heart. Now I know. All things are new. We start again with joy and optimism.

Bless you and yours in 2010.
9:00 AM
Dave Hingsburger said…
Yes, what a lovely post. I like the sense of turning a page and looking at the fresh sheet, unmarked, clean, and with trembling hand I begin to write the story of the next year.
9:39 AM
Belinda said…
Happy New Year dear friend--and friends! God is an expert in fresh starts, I think that's what was captured so wonderfully in this post.

Let's hold hands tightly and tightest of all to his, and go forward together!
10:08 AM
Joanna Mallory said…
Susan, it sounds like you had a lot of fun, and I really appreciate you sharing your insight about "all things new". I've often wondered what the point was of the hoopla. Using the turning of the year as a marker to remember what Jesus is doing -- that I understand.

And so I say "amen" to your prayer for this year... amen and amen.
8:34 AM
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