Have you also felt, like God is trying to do something new this year?

Google defines “new” as: “1. not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time. 2. already existing but seen, experienced, or acquired recently or now for the first time.”

New is creative. New is scary. New is exciting. New is nervousness. New is unexpected. New is rejected by some. New is discovering untapped potential. New was “already existing on a shelf,” but is now coming to use. New is a different approach. New is in transition. New is messy and chaotic. New is hope. New is life.

So many new things have happened this year, in our lives, in other’s lives and in the world around us. Trump became the 45th President of the United States. That’s new. Clemson University (our alma mater) won the 2016 National Championship in college football (they won in 1981…35 years ago!), but it feels new for us, the millennial generation. David (my husband) started a new job, with an entirely new skill-set, with new opportunities and relationships. New. We have New Year’s resolutions every year that we hope to keep up past February…

So when several (much wiser) people have declared this year, 2017, the year of breakthrough (which by definition means: “a sudden, dramatic important discovery” and “an instance of achieving success in a particular sphere or activity”) breakthrough is NEW. It will not always look like sunshine and daisies. It may not look like advancement from your vantage point. If you don’t like the perspective from where you are sitting–change. Change is hard by human nature. But if we don’t change, how can we make room in ourselves for something new? If you didn’t need any newness in your life, then you could stay the same, but part of you dies when nothing new is being created. If nothing new is happening, a part of you is dying. Because you have lost the ability to dream.  Complacency is wonderful until it becomes terrifying. Don’t let part of you shrivel up because you caved-in to fear. Don’t let fear dictate who you are and what you are supposed to do (or not do). (Part of this I may be taking from a Kris Vallotton message…shout out Kris Vallotton, but my “mommy brain” makes it hard to remember sometimes.)

Don’t be afraid of what is new. New directions. New callings. New adventures. New opportunities. New lives. New dreams. New year. New you.

I’ll jump with you.