By Gina Caswell Kelly
“Behold! I am making all things new!” Revelation 21:5
These words in Revelation always come to mind when we are approaching a new year. A new calendar with no marks on the page. A new opportunity to do more or do less! A fresh start. It sounds so good, doesn’t it? Just getting to start over fresh. I have often wished for “Etch a Sketch Brain” so I could just shake it all out and start over again! But our brains do not work that way.
As we approach this new year, I have decided that my words for the year are Quick, Slow, and Full. Does that mean anything to you? Well, I want to be Quick to forgive, and that includes myself. I want to be more forgiving of the things others do to hurt me or my family and friends, but I want to be more forgiving of me too. I don’t know about you, but at night, it seems that every wrong I have ever committed just parades through my mind. There is nothing I can do to change the past. I know my God is faithful to His Word and He has forgiven me. But there are times that I just can’t forgive myself. I don’t think I am alone in this. So, Quick to forgive.
I want to be Slow to anger. I will be really honest. It is pretty hard to make me mad. It is pretty hard to get me angry. On the outside. On the inside, occasionally my anger boils at things that people do or say. I am pretty sure I don’t show it much, but unexpressed anger on the inside is still anger. I want to allow God to be much more in control of my life and how I react, even if it is on the inside, to situations around me.
Lastly, I want to be Full of grace. I want to always show grace to others, even when it appears they don’t deserve it. After all, isn’t that what grace is? Unmerited favor. We live in a world that appears to be spoiling for a fight all the time. How about showing more grace to those around you? My daddy would never let us be mad at anyone. If anyone was ever ugly to us, he would tell us about what this person might be going through, and how they knew that if they unloaded all their emotion on us, then they must have known we would keep right on loving them. Oh I can hear him saying this even now! He was the greatest example of grace, other than Jesus, that I have ever seen. Always forgiving and offering grace to others.
So, those are my words for the year. Quick. Slow, Full. I pray you see those things expressed in my life this year. What are your hopes for the new year?
My hope is that we all work hard to “Make a Difference!” Happy New Year!
