Out With The Old, In With The New?
Hello friends!!! Welcome to 2021 and our FIRST blog of the new year (*insert happy dance here). I am so excited for what God has to bring in this upcoming year, so I only saw it fitting to take this first week and take a look back on the previous year, but also a look forward to this year.
We have all heard the phrase “Out with the old, in with the new”. I mean you probably say this every year. The action of taking a whole year, 365 days, and tossing it aside for the new year to appear. I have to be honest that I am like that every year. I disregard the previous year and put my efforts into the next. By the end of January I typically forget what I learned the previous year and just go “blank canvas let’s go”, but then by the end of the year I am in the same cycle. I learn a lot, but then forget to apply it in the new year. However, this year was different. This year, all, if not most, of us have had a total change in lifestyle. Maybe you lost a job, moved back in with your parents, had a minimal social life, financially struggled, whatever it might have been this year changed us. Then again, there have been so many times of growth, renewal, discovery, victories, and gratitude that were more cherished because it was a chance to change.
So why should we toss out an old year instead of bringing it into the new year with us? Yes there is stuff we should and may leave behind, but we shouldn’t leave everything behind.
In the year of 2020 I have learned a lot. The first being, it is ok to invest in yourself. Over the course of 2020 I have spent more time by myself investing in my dreams and passions than I have in years. Through spending time by myself and with God I found so much joy in discovering where God needs and wants me to be. Take the time to be your biggest hype person, it is alright, because in order for us to love others so well we first have to love ourselves. We see this in Mark 12:30-31 where we are called to the second greatest commandment, Love your neighbor as YOURSELF! We cannot love others unless we love ourselves, so take that time for yourself and everything about you that God uniquely handcrafted uniquely specifically for you!
The second thing I learned was the importance of three words, intentionality, investment, relationship. This year it has been hard to see friends, to hang out at a restaurant, grabbing coffee after church, we were stripped away of those intentional moments we love to share with each other. However, 2020 called us to a greater need for intentionality and investment. We were forced to change the way we look at our relationship and become more aware of intentionally reaching out to our friends and family. Our way of life slowed down where we were able to spend time even reaching out to family members that we would brush aside because we were too busy, or tired from the day. A few of my favorite memories were calling my grandmother and seeing her face when she would open facetime and realize I was calling her, something I wish I did more of before 2020. Parking lot chats with my friends is another memory. Gosh, my church parking lot got to know me very well. I was there almost everyday seeing people, getting socially distant coffee, or having a pizza party, even just having those God chats, bible studies, and better yet, the birthplace for the idea of Boldly Seeking. And to be honest, sometimes I miss those days of sitting in a parking lot on a blanket with my friends around just being still because the whole world was still for once. Investing and being intentional in our relationship became a cherished thing for 2020.
Third thing is the idea of church. The Church as we know it, has changed a lot. There have been moments I’ve missed a packed sanctuary, seeing smiles of worship, or after church lunches, but the church was called in 2020. The Church was called out of the building. This for me set off a change in how I say “Welcome to Church.” Because here’s the thing, church is always about the people and never about the building. God doesn’t reside in just four walls that we enter into once a week, he resides in the hearts of each and every one of us, walking, moving, and holding our hands as we journey through life together. In 2020, I have stopped saying “welcome TO church” but rather “ Welcome Church”. Church as a people is so much more comforting than a building, because in a year where the building couldn’t be used, I was able to see the church, from 6 hour recording sessions, outside after service lunches, outdoor gatherings at different houses, home groups, and even seeing the church move towards the community, move towards serving not just in the building but outside of the building.
Now at this point you are probably thinking, how does this all relate to “out with the old, in with the new.” Friends, I thought the same thing too, but with one word it all clicked.
That word is “THIS”.
Yep we are going there!
About four days before the end of 2020 I sent out an email to our friends that have subscribed to our online “In The Know”, if you aren’t on this list go subscribe now because in 2021 this will be huge, but I made a spelling mistake that changed the trajectory of 2021. Instead of saying “this year” I said “his year” in the email. I didn’t think much about it at first, until it was much later in the day and I was driving home from work. It was in the car I realized that this year was always (t)HIS year. Get it?! It was then I realized that at the end of 2019 we all were focused on that 20/20 vision. We wanted to better ourselves, rethink our dreams and passions, and from a ministry standpoint we wanted to see revival happen. Then the unthinkable happened and life looked different. But here’s the thing friends (*currently jumping up and down cause I am so excited), this HAS been the year of 20/20 vision because this year was always HIS year, it was God’s year. It was God’s 20/20 vision that we got to witness! It might not have been the year we thought it would be, but it certainly was what God wanted it to be. We all spent more time bettering ourselves, self-care, GROWING in our relationship with Christ, chasing dreams and passions, and for some, the pandemic was the tipping point to just do it! We saw revival begin to happen in a totally different way because church, well, church looked different! There have been moments in 2020 that we really had to think long and hard about where we were in the debate, but we also had to stand as a church for the vision that God has and will always have. In a year of 20/20 vision, a year where things were hard, difficult, different, why would we want to throw that aside for a new year where instead we can merge the old and new together. Because it isn’t just this year, but every year that is (t)HIS year.
I challenge you today, if you haven’t taken the time to reflect on the last year, what in the old are you bringing with you in the new. Those points above? I am 110% bringing with me into God’s year of 2021 no matter what it may look like. This time, it is HOW I will live out 2021, not just some notes that I write down and soon end in the garbage during that spring cleanout. We don’t have to totally throw out the old year, for the new year to come in. We can take the old year and apply it in the new year. Apply what you learned, what you hoped for, the growth you had, because God didn’t stop on December 31st, 2020, he is only just beginning!
Love you friends and get ready for an incredible 2021!
