Words from WW Blog

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

“Something old, something new...” is the beginning of a rhyme intended for brides to remember their list of things that needed to be done. For me, it has a completely different connotation. In the midst of my old age, I’m finding new experiences.

For example, I’m awakened each new day with my new companion, Arth Rithis! You see, the latest and greatest may mean what enters into your life later on that will be one of your greatest challenges. To announce its arrival, it rings the doorbell of your lower back and knocks on your knees. The pill that is taken shortly after arising in the morning gradually dulls the noise of the pain.

This is another thing about the oldness of newness: the expanding number of pill bottles that are the AARP equivalent of notches in the belt. It’s a sign of how many decades you’ve roamed the earth, a prescription to symbolize every ten years. Honestly, most of the pill bottles are reflections of the sins of my past: a taste for fried foods, not stretching well enough before playing basketball or taking in a five-mile run, slouching in that uncomfortable school desk for all those years, and snacking late at night. In many cases, the newness is connected to my dumbness.

Other new additions to my new old year include suspect hearing, hurting teeth, unexpected grumpiness, and a desire to head to warmer climates about the time I’m turning the thermostat up in the house.

The other side of the well-weathered coin, however, is that each day is a new creation, a new opportunity, and filled with the potential of a multitude of blessings. I am a new creation given the opportunity to be renewed and refreshed each and every day.

When I retired after 36 and 1/2 years as a church pastor, I was actually “repurposed.” I was no longer pastoring a church, but I was repurposed to pastor in other ways: conversations at Starbucks with several of the regulars that often turn towards the spiritual, coaching young athletes with emphases on good character and respect for others, the freed-up time to write, and the opportunities to teach middle school kids that is more about influencing their perspectives and moral outlook on life. I no longer have the time pressure to prepare a sermon each week, but I do have the “purpose” of impacting young minds.

In effect, I am a new creation, not because of anything I’ve done but because of the One I follow, Jesus. The renewing of my mind is far more important than the deterioration of my knees and hips. In the midst of my transition from Frosted Flakes to cereal that resembles grass clippings, I have been blessed to make small, subtle differences in the lives of those I encounter.

I am an old new creation!

This entry was posted on January 7, 2024 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.