All Things Can Become New

Image credit: Pixabay.com (2016), CC0/PD[/caption] All across the country, school is back in full swing. Our kids carry clean notebooks and refreshed minds, ready to be filled with new knowledge. Back at home, however, all we moms have is the leftover mess of summer. Yes, we feel glee and relief as the bus pulls away with our noisy kids. But we don't necessarily feel excited about the new school year. The only new thing for us is the chaos of adjusting to a new routine. That's when envy sets in: Envy for all our kids get to learn, all the experiences they have yet to live, and the endless potential of who they can become. That loop runs incessantly in our minds as we wipe sticky goo off the counter, scrub dirty toilets, and fold eighteen loads of laundry. Then the words of Isaiah 43:18-19 whisper across our minds.

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.

If God can make streams in the wasteland, He can revive our weary souls. He can also rejuvenate our minds, dust off the cobwebs, and inspire our hearts to seek more. If and when we want change badly enough, and ask God for it, He'll open doors and windows everywhere. It may just be a podcast we stumble upon that fills our soul while folding all that laundry. It may be a quick Google search that leads us to a local moms group that brings new friends who support us in this crazy journey. It may be an old journal we randomly come across that reminds us of who we used to be, and inspires us to try and find her again. There are no limits -- except the ones we create in our minds. Like I tell my children, there isn't anything we can't do if we just believe, and lean on God. God does want to do new things in us moms, too, this school year. Just like we'd hate to see our kids pass up a fantastic opportunity that lands in their lap, we shouldn't pass up the wonderful opportunity that God places on our heart. If you're like me, and you have no idea what that opportunity might be, we need to routinely find quiet time to plug in to Him and listen. We also need to stay firm in our hope -- and get excited about the endless potential that still remains in us when we turn our future over to Him.