He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Psalm 40:3a

Monday, February 19, 2018

A New Creation


           
            As a teenager, I loved to watch the Miss America or Miss Universe pageants.  I was spellbound as the beautiful young women crossed the stage.  Not only did the contestants have beauty, but skills and intelligence.  I enjoyed every single segment as I had my own tally sheet to see which one I thought would win; who stood out among her peers.  After each of these events, I would daydream about how I could experience such a glamorous event. 

            I only participated in these affairs in my dreams since it takes many competitions to be able to participate in one at that level.  It takes a fair amount of wealth to be able to afford the    clothes, gowns and travel required to participate.  It also requires a certain degree of experience, that partly comes from participation, that enables a person to be able to speak well and have the knowledge necessary to compete intellectually. Our family simply didn’t qualify!

            But, undeterred, I was determined to alter who I was.  I attempted to “modify” my diet, read to educate myself, as well as, do the best I could in school.  Eventually, however, as the weeks passed, following the pageants, the dreams would diminish ….until the next year’s pageants came around again.

            It’s human nature to want changes.  We are often looking for ways to change something about ourselves; looks, financial status, careers, education and more.  Businesses do this, as well as governments.  Political figures are elected for just this purpose. They campaign, telling all who will listen how they will change the “landscape” of their particular state, whether economic, educational, or other—and all for good!

            As I pen this, our country is going through all kinds of changes.  Between the political climate, the unusual weather patterns, medical challenges, personal agendas for climbing the corporate business ladder, environmental concerns, educational policies and religious differences, change is inevitable, even if neighbors, relatives, children and spouses disagree!

            With disagreements come predicable adamant and sometimes loud and ugly words in an effort to make a particular opinion clearer.  That isn’t always the case, however.  It seems the deeper we dig in our heels to say our way is right, the less and less it appears likely!  We grow weary and sometimes just give up….not give in, but give up!

            As Believers, sometimes we take this same perspective in our spiritual life.  We are inspired by someone we’ve heard, a miracle we’ve witnessed, or a relationship we’ve developed with God.   But then time, and “life” interferes, and we lose our excitement, our dedication and passion to push forward toward our desired changes, much like the elected politician or my beauty queen dream. 


            We place our “spiritual life” on the shelf, as we allow the world to diminish our resistance to worldly behaviors, attitudes, perspectives, thought processes and even the company we keep.  I encourage you to reflect on your “dreams of alteration” to the person you are, compared to the person you would like to be.  Do your alterations align with God and Biblical principles, or are they more in line with the world?  Are you happy and content with the person you see in the mirror?

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