trading old for new

Today I switched out most of the clothes from Abraham's closet and replaced them with clothes that are more size- and age-appropriate for our hefty little guy. Not a big deal, but it took me a while to get around to doing it. And like usual, I felt silly when I finally did it. He's been squeezing into six-month-old clothes for the last few months, and for some reason I just wasn't really ready to box them away. I didn't think he would be ready for the next size, somehow, even though the former size wasn't fitting. But sure enough, he had a huge box full of clothes in the next size up that are adorable and fit him wonderfully and even leave room to grow.

And so, as often happens, I have been pondering the analogy. It might only make sense to me, but here goes. All too often, I find myself holding on to the former things when God is ready to do a new thing. People think that I am good at change because we move so much and change careers so often and all that. But I think that is just God helping me get over my desperate desire for things to not ever change. I love to cling to the way things are. I have shared this before but when I was a little girl, I didn't play with Barbies; I staged them. I would stage them exactly the same way every time and then leave them sit like that for as long as I could (weeks, preferably) until my mom would make me put them away. When I got them out, I would stage them exactly the same way again. Same barbecue set with the same tongs in the same Barbie's hand flipping the same burgers in the same way while the same spare tongs hung on the same spare hook and the same extra Barbies sat on the same bench with the same clothes and the same dishes and the same Barbie and Ken sat the same way in the same Jeep driving by at the same angle. Seriously.

I like to figure out how I like things and then make them that way and keep them that way. Even in little things like what clothes Abraham is wearing, I find that this holds true. I liked his six-month-old clothes. They were cute. They weren't worn out. Problem was, they didn't fit anymore. It was time for a change. I could have kept squishing him into those clothes for a while longer, but why? Then I would miss out on the opportunity to clothe him in new, better-fitting clothes.

Moving into the next season that God has for us means letting go of the last one. This is such a simple concept, but I'm pretty sure that the lesson has been repeated in my life more times than I can remember. I held onto our Coeur d'Alene time longer than I needed to, fearful of how awful it would be to move to St. Maries. And yet we love it here. We are so glad that we moved. There is much we left behind, but there is much we've gained. It was worth it. Holding onto things for longer than their appointed season doesn't prolong the blessing, it just sours it. There is a time for letting go.

I am trying to take some time this week to reflect on the past year and prepare for the one ahead. I think this concept of being open to whatever new things God has for us is important for me.

"This is what the LORD says - He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 'Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland... to give drink to My people, My chosen, the people I formed for Myself that they may proclaim My praise.'" (Isaiah 43:16-21)

And... I was only going to post that much of the passage, and then end this post, but the next portion is always poignant to me, and probably something I need to be remembering as I prepare for the year ahead.

"'Yet you have not called upon Me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for Me, O Israel.'" (Isaiah 43:22)

How many times have I read that verse or thought of it when I am totally tired by overactive energies in a hundred areas, when if only I had called upon the Lord or spent time dwelling in His presence, He would have given me not only the strength and courage to get through everything, but to do it in His grace and by His power. I think that will have to be my first goal for the new year... to truly and completely do all things through Christ who strengthens me.