New

New

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

A FRIEND CAME HOME from her vacation with family discouraged. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that her parents and siblings had made cutting remarks about her and her past. When she appeared hurt, they told her it was all in jest, but she knew their words still held some of their underlying beliefs about her and her character.

For years my friend has struggled with addiction and made some pretty poor choices in her life. She has been sober now for eighteen months, but her family, often without even realizing it, still brings up her past. Unwilling or unable to see that she has changed many things about her life, including going to see a therapist, attending support groups regularly, and mentoring younger girls through an afterschool program, they still only remember the person she was and don’t have eyes to see who she is becoming. They don’t see the compassion, love, and generosity she now displays through work and volunteering that could have only come through Christ. And although my friend realizes she spent a lot of years making unhealthy decisions, she has apologized for her past damaging actions and only hopes that her family will one day see the person she is, with God’s help, becoming.

Family roles can often be challenging to break out of, especially when a pattern has been set for many years. But what good news we have that we do not have to stay stuck in our unhealthy ways. In Christ, we can become a new person. If we are willing to do the work of seeing what needs to change and asking God and others to help us, we are not beholden to continue to repeat history. We can change and grow. The old life can be gone and a new life will begin!

Lord, thank you for the new life in Christ that you offer us that frees us from the destructive habits of our pasts. Give us the courage to walk in your ways and not return to the unhealthy habits of our former selves. Amen.

-Kendra

One Good Step: Spend some time today thinking of how God has grown you as a person, and thank him for the new life in Christ you now have.