I love fresh starts, new beginnings, and clean slates. Every New Year always seems to carry an extra helping of hope. Moving to a new home always inspires large doses of creativity. And meeting new people always holds the secret pondering that perhaps I may have found a bosom friend.
Perhaps that’s why I have nearly 40 journals in my hope chest, with only seven of them completely filled... Or why I have a pile of ingenious ideas without ever having felt the need to see them through... Or why letters written to my friends I often end up snapping a picture of and texting, rather than procuring a stamped envelope… Or why I hand my husband a dessert after only taking two bites…
You see, the beginning of a thing is always my favorite part of any adventure because it’s full of wonder and expectation, ridiculous hopes, and endless possibilities.
But the beginning of any human enterprise does not guarantee its end.
I have regrettably ripped out years of journal entries on account of sloppy handwriting or embarrassing situations. Those are thoughts I could never return to and growth opportunities I can no longer learn from. It's amazing how mistakes and regret and guilt and laziness and pride can crush so many beautiful beginnings.
BUT GOD.
That which God started will be as beautifully, sovereignly, and perfectly continued to its end. The Author of all things is also the Finisher, and He has promised to complete all that He has started. He has begun a good work in me, and He is faithful to complete it. And as I am being completed, may I humbly and faithfully rejoice in this sanctifying process.
And so, as I have this chance to start building my brand on a new platform, I am excited and hopeful in this new beginning. I want to start well, that I might continue with excellence, and finish without regret. Yet I do not wish to rip out any pages that reveal my brokenness. For as long as I am pursuing Christ first, humbly submitting to His pruning process in my life, in my imperfections there is growth, and through my inefficiencies the grace of Jesus will produce a better likeness of Himself.
It is in better understanding Him that I will better understand who He has called me to be. And in that, just as His mercies are new every morning, my every breath is a new beginning of opportunity.
So as I embark on this new adventure, may it be with the old theme in a steadfast desire:
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