The Christmas decor has come down, but the joy of Christ will remain vibrant in our home. Along with decor, we got rid of baby things we have outgrown, returned things borrowed from other folks that are no longer of use, and created space for a new season. I say this pretty often- that purging junk in your home and purging junk in your soul can go hand in hand.
As the reds and greens, silvers and golds come down to be stored away, what things in your life need to be set aside until another season? As the faces of loved ones on holiday greeting cards are tucked away and the physical faces fade from around the celebration table, are there new people you need to invite in, make space for? Where can you create a little space or margin to help you set your gaze on the things that are most important with joy and intentionality? Might it look like saying no to more things? Letting go of people or ideas that have been contributing more stagnation than growth? Or simply being more present?
We are entering a new decade. Some of us are tiptoeing into it, hesitantly, finding it hard to leave memories behind. Some of us are skipping into it with anticipation and thankful for a fresh start and hopeful about things to come. None of us are entirely the same as we were when we entered this decade. We have learned, loved, lost, and learned again. Regardless of where we find ourselves, we have the opportunity to discover the new things that God is doing in our lives, acknowledge the ways he is working, and turn to the paths he is making clear. Will we be open to it all?
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have laid hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.” Philipians 3:12-15