I am starting the new year slowly, relishing that it has fallen on a Saturday and the day is laid bare with no place to go. Oh, there’s much to do; not the least of which is packing up the Christmas decorations. But I know I’ll be moving at full steam this afternoon and all will be back to normal by nightfall.
::
Normal. Is that what most of the year is? Do I just tuck away the celebration of Christ as I tuck away the garland and ornaments? May it not be! May normal be the every day celebration of Christ, who is now seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for the saints, and preparing a place for His bride.
::
For a few hours this morning I am soaking in the quiet and pondering what normal will look like this year. I never dreamed what God would do in our lives this past year. I never would have guessed a year ago that God would change our hearts so dramatically to be givers instead of keepers, nor that we would become altogether radical and become a voice for the least of these.
God’s plans are so much better than my own. Had my plans comes to fruition, I never would have known the joy that He brought through the working out of His plans. I’ve been dwelling on that all week as I’ve looked to the new year, full of new plans. And I’ve wondered, “How can I be satisfied in Him alone, if I am not willing to be satisfied with His plans?”
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. – Psalm 19:21
Looking to the past and treasuring up all that He has done fuels my faith to trust Him with my future. Come what may, the new year belongs to Him. And I am resting in His hand, anticipating that only there will I be satisfied.
In hope,
Shelli
About Shelli Bourque