When You Want to Bookend Your Years

Driving to my friend's house last night, New Year's Eve, I listened to Matthew West's album, "The Story of Your Life." Strangly, I had never gotten past the first 10 or so songs because I loved them so much I kept listening to them on repeat. But I happened to listen to the last two songs and my mouth dropped open. I drove, truly, with The Holy Spirit, in me - eyes teary and heart pounding at the profound and comforting lyrics provided in both songs: "The Reason for the World" and "The Healing Has Begun."

I realized that the first song could end my 2011 and the latter song could begin my 2012.

Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to embed youtube videos into this blog template. I'm not even sure if you can. So I can't provide an actual visual of the youtube video and have you click on it and watch it from here. All I can do is provide the links and you'll have to go to the youtube site and watch it from there.

But I tell you, it's worth it.

So if you haven't taken stock of the past year yet, take a seat and listen to this first song,
"The Reason for the World" (link provided in the title)

My favorite lyrics to that song are:

Maybe the reason for the pain  

Is so we would pray for strength 

And maybe the reason for the strength  

Is so that we would not lose hope 

And maybe the reason for all hope 

Is so that we could face the world 

And the reason for the world 

Is to make us long for home

If you are trying to make sense of tragedies in your life - and we all have them - then please do listen to this song. People mean well when they say that "everything is for a reason." This song comforts you the right way. 

The song ends this way:

No ear has heard 

No eye has seen 

Not even in your wildest dreams 

A beauty that awaits beyond this world 

When you look into the eyes of grace  

and hear the voice of mercy say

Child, welcome to the reason for the world

Think about that last line. What does that mean for you?

The second song, "The Healing Has Begun" is a wonderful song to start the New Year with. We all have healing to do - whether it is from a trauma that has haunted us since childhood or if it is something recent that has scarred us...we are never one hundred percent put together. And how can we be without God's mercy, strength and love? 

Let this year be the year that you take the Lord's hands and say, Yes, let me heal. Help me heal. It is time.

"The Healing Has Begun" (link to song is in the title)

My favorite lyrics are

There's a world full of people dying from broken hearts  

Holding on to the guilt, thinking they fell too far 

So don't be afraid to show 'em your beautiful scars 

'Cause they're the proof, yeah you're the proof 

Oh, the healing has begun

Your scars are beautiful! They are a testimony to your survival. And when you take the Lord's hand and walk with Him, you are a testimony to grace and mercy. As Matthew West sings, don't be afraid to show them your beautiful scars because YOU are the proof...

that the healing has begun.

Let this be a year of healing and love.

Living Every Day in a Holy Way

Now that the holidays are over, what are you going to do? What are you thinking about as New Year's approaches? Ah-ha! May I take a guess? New Year's resolutions? Those sometimes lofty or attainable goals we lay out for the upcoming year.

Do we lose weight? Spend less time on the computer? Spend more time with the kids? Take more walks? Be nicer to a difficult co-worker?

But the new year doesn't have to be about hope turning into perceived failure. We can make every day count as a holy day - by being intentional about living our lives in a holy way.

You can still use your resolution list for this. You can still try to lose weight, but do it for the right reason: to be full of the Living Water Jesus wishes to give, to be full of spiritual food, not the junk food we crave. We can still spend less time on the computer, but make it holy by spending more time in God's Word and in God's presence. We can still spend more time with the kids, take more walks, be nicer to that co-worker. All this can be done with holiness in mind. With Jesus in mind.

So don't think of resolutions as lofty goals that you make and break by the end of the month. Be intentional about living every day in a holy way. Be the hands and the feet of Jesus. Count blessings as you drive to work in the morning or as you wake up to start your day. There are so many opportunities to start over this year, no matter how bad the last year had been. God given us each a new day, makes us a new creation:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

I wish you a most blessed 2012 full of love, peace, and joy.