New Year, New thing I don’t know if any of you guys can relate to the ‘all I have been thinking phrase’, “it just doesn’t feel like Christmas!” This Christmas has been different from all the others that I can remember, and the funny thing is, it has been getting more and more different every year. When something is ‘different’ it means it’s not the same, there is a change. Sometimes change is good, sometimes it’s bad, and sometimes, it’s just darn right uncomfortable and unwanted. I’m not a great fan of change (of things that I’m comfortable with), yet ironically, I can quite often change my mind…! When I am used to something a certain way, a certain day, or a certain place I find it difficult to adjust and adapt. In fact there is some scientific investigations regarding changes and women, and it shows that women take longer than men to adjust and adapt to change, especially changing house. Reason being, us women place parts of our identities into our surroundings. We make the homes we live in, they reflect our creativity – us. On the down side, if our investments fail us, for instance, our children do something wrong in public, or a friend or relative questions us on our bathroom colour choice, we take the full blow of offense as our identities get tarnished by the remarks of our workmanship. Whether good or bad, happy or sad, changes will occur throughout our lives. We may not always understand them, we may not always like them, but we can always rest assured that no matter how much we or the people around us change, our Lord and Saviour is always the same (Hebrew’s 13:8). Coming into a New Year always stirs a reason for change. Goals are set, resolutions are made, and every effort is made to have them met. Yet, almost within the first quarter of the year, sometimes even within the first week, we fail! Why? Well, I don’t have a definite answer, sorry. But I do think that it is partly because we don’t have, or we are not using the right tools, or the right plan. You know, I have managed to break free from a lot of old habits, and only through the grace of a loving God. Before I really began to know God, He knew me. He knew the secrets of my heart, He knew my flaws, and the things I did that I couldn’t stop on my own, and He knew just how to help me. About a year before I stopped smoking, I had this thought kind of feeling in my heart and mind that I needed to stop. I didn’t want my son to have a smoking mother, I knew it wasn’t healthy, and I didn’t want him to grow up smoking either. The thing was, I was surrounded by smokers; friends, family, and predominantly a social culture that I enjoyed, which meant it would be harder to stop without encouragement and support. So, as crazy as it sounds, I believe God told me that He would prepare me for the whole year to stop. And He did. Within that year a campaign of ‘stop smoking’ adverts bombarded my T.V. screen. My son would sit and watch as little children would say the words, ‘My mummy’s gonna die’, and ‘My daddy’s gonna die soon’. He would come to me with tearful eyes echoing those same words, and I knew how much he believed that to be true and how it hurt him. How then could I possibly keep on smoking knowing my son believed I would die? Slowly every day I warmed more and more to the idea of stopping. I subconsciously started to think about my smoking habits, when I would smoke, what were the triggers, when I would smoke the most etc, the answers were mentally etched in my brain, and before long I was taking away some of those smoking times, which reduced the amounts I smoked. Before the year was up I had got an ‘NHS stop smoking pack’. The first thing I remember it saying was to set a stop smoking date. So I did. I made an appointment with the clinic for just before my stop date and on attending was given hints, tips, and patches suitable for my habit. Friends, this was a tool I needed to aid achieving my goal. I used the patches for a small amount of time before ‘going it alone’. I had a few hiccups, but didn’t get back to the way I was before. However, at ‘just the right time’ I began to date a professional sportsman who couldn’t stand cigarettes, and equally a smoking girlfriend. This was a BIG push, the encouragement I needed to shift my mind and priorities. Throughout the time we dated I don’t remember smoking once. And when we eventually went our separate ways, I was smoke free, hallelujah! When I look back at that particular breakthrough, I completely see how God orchestrated the plan; He placed each tool in my hand, and gave me the encouragement and support needed to fulfill it. The truth is friends; God has a plan and a purpose for our lives. He has a plan for us to fulfill. We won’t always know the full degree or details of the plan, but He will lead and direct us through the different steps and stages needed to reach each goal He sets and places on our hearts (Jeremiah 29:11-13, Psalm 37:23, Psalm 37:3-6). This year may not be the year that we start or stop one thing or another, but it may just be the year that we decide in our hearts quietly between ourselves and God the very thing that we need to do, and with His help, He will change us from the inside so that next year it will be ready to be shown on the outside. I pray each and every one of you has a blessed year; that you will all stand strong, support and love one another through the happy and the sad times. Be full of faith, hope, and trust in our Lord Jesus, and be ready for the new thing that He has for you (Isaiah 43:19). God bless you beauties. XxX Truth: New King James Version (1982) Hebrew’s 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jeremiah 29:11-13 - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Psalm 37:23 - The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Psalm 37:3-6 - Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. Isaiah 43:19 - Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 15:15:44 +0000
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