Happy New Year my loves!! I pray that your new year is off to a WONDERFUL start! This month we are talking about newness. This has blessed me personally and has given me a totally different perspective. I want you all to know that I am never talking at you, the revelation smacks me in the face first before it gets to you! This journey is for us all! Now, about this newness. Of course, I have confided in my dictionary and found some definitions for you. The one that stood out to me was “something unfamiliar or something unaccustomed.”

A New Year-2019

This year is full of possibilities, but it is also full of things that are unfamiliar-much like our walk with Christ. We have to trust that He is the God of the new. Have you ever been dealing with a situation and wondered, “Why am I not able to get over this? Why can’t I just start over? Why am I in this continuous cycle?” Could it be that we have not released the old? The Good Book says in Isaiah 43:18-19 “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 wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Every cause has an effect. When we let go of the past things and people that hurt us or the decisions we regret, we will be able to perceive the new thing He has for us.

The first step in walking into the new is to identify those past hurts and regrets and gracefully release them to God. Yes, gracefully. THAT👏🏽IS👏🏽HARD👏🏽! I was listening to Dr. Faith Wakoma and she stated that “If you curse the previous place, you close the door to the new place. ” 🙌🏾🙌🏾 So, instead we must accept what happened, ask God to heal us and allow us to release the past, and understand that it was preparation for the new place. Sometimes we grieve the place that we are in or even the idea of where we want to be for so long, that God can’t get the new thing to us because we are still in mourning. For example, I have to release the idea that according to my plan, I was supposed to be married to a nice, tall, butter pecan tan man of God with good hair by the time I was 25, have my daughter by 28, my son by 30 and live happily ever after! Well, I have gracefully walked past each of those milestone ages, soooo apparently God and I were not on the same page about those #Relationshipgoals! If I hold on to that idea, how can I effectively receive the plan that God has for me? I will always compare it to what I think I was supposed to have. We can’t be so fixated on what we want that we take our eyes off of the new thing that God wants to do. His plan is always greater!

A Biblical Example-Our Sister Ruth

I’m sure EVERY woman has heard the story of Ruth. We usually just skip to the part about her getting her Boaz, however, there is so much more to that story. Admit it, you have probably told someone at least once you’re waiting on your Boaz! Let’s leave her boo alone and get us Devante or Seth with a Boaz mentality! If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read the book of Ruth–it is only 4 chapters. Ruth is actually the daughter in law of Naomi. Naomi was married and had two sons and another daughter in law Orpah. Naomi’s husband and sons passed away which left Naomi feeling betrayed. She held on to that grief and decided to go back to her hometown. Her daughters in law were coming with her but she was not having it. She was like “Look, I have nothing for you, I can’t have another son to be your husband, go home to your own families.” Orpah was like “noooo!!” The kind of no that you say when you really want someone to say “yes, please go!” Ruth was steadfast. She was not taking no for an answer. Naomi was still grieving and even asked that they call her Mara(meaning bitter) during this time. Ruth could have went back to familiarity, instead, she walked into the new!

In this new land, she was diligent in taking care of Naomi by working in the fields. While Ruth was out there, Boaz came out and asked who the new pretty young thing was. He instructed his people to give her special treatment and leave grain for her to glean on purpose. Not only did she get provision, but she also got a husband out of the deal! Ruth went from gleaning in the field to owning the field! She was in a position to receive because she had released the grief and pain from her past and accepted this new place that God had led her to. She even helped to restore Naomi’s faith in God.

We never hear about Orpah again, however, Ruth’s story is still being told; She is the great-grandmother of King David and in the lineage of Jesus. What she thought was just faithfulness to her mother in law was actually her mandate to carry out the promise! From that story, we see that God is a God of restoration. Ruth didn’t hold on to her pain and sorrow. She grieved, however, she didn’t allow the grief to overcome her. In doing this, she made herself available to all that God had to give. He redeemed her time! He made her story one of beauty; He made all things new!

Walking Into Your New

So what are you grieving? What are you missing out on because it doesn’t look like what you asked for? What space can we trade for a new, unfamiliar place? Yours may be different from my previously mentioned example. Trust me, we all have an area or two that could be up for discussion. Let’s look deep and figure those things out so we can be free to receive this year. Our story may not be like Ruth’s, or anyone else we know. God doesn’t have to bring my husband like He brought Ruth’s, I want to experience something new! However, I can’t block my blessing by holding on to my vision for that area of my life. My prayer is that we can be honest with ourselves and identify the things or people we are grieving. I pray that we give those things to God and ask Him to help us to release the regret and pain. Let us walk in a freedom that unlocks the doors to all that God has in store for us. I pray that He makes all things new and redeems the time we spent in mourning. Let’s set the tone for our year to be available for the new things our God is doing!