Another Chance

“It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”  Lamentations 3:22-23

When my daughter graduated from high school, her principal gave a closing address that has remained with me ever since.  After acknowledging and saluting the accomplishments of the graduating class, he said to them and to us all:  Now, you get to start over.  Nothing that you’ve done in high school matters – whether you were at the top of your class or just barely making it.  Right now, everyone has the same chance of being successful.   In effect, he said, you all get the chance to be the person that you wish to be, regardless of your past.  It does not have to determine your future.  In other words, you get a clean slate.  For me, that was profound and, what I thought, every graduating student needed to hear.

 

So my daughter went on to college.  I don’t know if the parting words of her former principal impacted her as much as they did me but I can tell you this:  the student she was in high is not the student she is in college.  She’s focused, determined and she now has purpose.  She’s proud of her accomplishments and rightfully so because she has succeeded where others have failed.  I applaud her, I celebrate her and I’m so very proud of her, too.  But more than anything, I’m grateful that she did not succumb to the desire to just give in and accept her past academic history as an indicator of the type of student she could be.  She had the courage to change and for that, I appreciate her.  Freshman year has become a defining moment for her.  Now she knows just what she is capable of achieving.  And she has become a living embodiment and illustration of her principal’s speech. 

Every day we also get another chance to get it right, according to our scripture.  New mercy and fresh forgiveness is reloaded for us every single day.  I, for one, am infinitely grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had for a “do over."  I thank God for them!  The fact that I don’t have to continue to be the person that I’ve become or continue down the path that I’ve chosen is exciting to me.  If I don’t like the direction my life has taken, I have the power to change it.  I get to do it again, I get to it over, I get do it better.  We are empowered to change.  That is good news. 

At this time of year, we especially recognize the need to change how we’ve done things in the past.  This is our fresh start. So let us move forward with purpose, keeping in mind our ultimate goal of being better people, living better lives, with a determination to be a more positive influence on those around us.  Let us resolve to impact the lives of our circle of friends, coworkers and family in such a way as to leave a legacy and a pattern for those to follow who come after us. 

So Happy New Year.  Happy New Start.  Happy New You.

Be blessed,

Loria

The Christmas Song Cover by Ell Clark

"X" Marks the Spot!

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  (Isaiah 9:6)

A few days before Christmas and all through the house … I had no Christmas spirit!  It was depressing, actually.  I had not given in to the “spend, spend, spend, buy, buy, buy,” mentality yet but I was feeling the pressure.  A week before Christmas and I had not completed my Christmas shopping – in fact, I hadn’t even begun.  The pressure mounted but I just wasn’t feeling the whole shopping thing.  It wasn’t that I didn’t try – I went out many days with the intention of buying, only to come back empty handed.  It was incredibly frustrating.  Such a simple task, why couldn’t I just do it? I felt defeated by Christmas.  Something was wrong.

I recalled an episode of My Wife and Kids where Michael (with Damon Wayans as the father) wound up directing the school play for his youngest daughter’s class.   At the end of the production, the cast signed off with, “You put the peanut in the peanut hole!”  Michael had spent most of the episode asking what that meant but the answer was obvious, at least for the kids.  Where else would you put the peanut? 

Then I realized the true source of my angst; there was a huge, Jesus-sized hole in my holiday.  I had gotten far away from the true purpose of this day.  So how did I get it back on track?  How did I put Christ back in Christmas and reclaim this day for him and for me?  I wanted to go on the news, shout it at the mall, go up to strangers and shake them by their shoulders and say:  We’ve got it all wrong!  We’re doing it all wrong!  My Christmas was all out of whack.  It had been hijacked and I wanted it back. 

I thought about staging an intervention with my kids, to wake them up to what was going on.  Problem with that was, I think they already knew.  When my kids realized I just wasn’t enjoying myself they backed off with their Christmas requests.  My daughter, bless her heart, actually tried to help me as much as she could.  I don’t ever remember being this overwhelmed before.  I was mega stressed because of shopping and my inability to just get on with it this season.  My daughter said to me, gently, “Hey, Jesus is the reason for the season.”  To which I responded in a depressed fashion – “No, He’s not!  But he should be.”   That’s when I knew – the “Bah, Humbug” spirit was in me.  I couldn’t fix the world’s perspective but I could try to fix mine.

In the Transformers movie, there was one robot (in disguise, LOL), Bumble Bee, who couldn’t actually speak, except for in song.  Whenever he was asked a question or wanted to make a comment, he would contribute with a relevant song from his radio.  Sometimes, God speaks to me like that.  He answers me in song.  I had lost my focus and felt disconnected.  It was like a festering wound that needed healing and a brought a song to mind:  “There is a Balm in Gilead.”

So I began, very simply, by putting some Jesus on that wound.  I needed healing.  I needed to be reconnected to my source.  I found some of my favorite gospel songs, songs that really got my spirit jumping and made me want to “Praise the name of Jesus,” ala Tramaine Hawkins.  I listened to a beautiful song, full of majesty which made me want to worship – Kurt Karr’s, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  It reminded me of why I live this life, why I do what I do and why I serve him.  Because he’s worthy.  Because he first loved me.  Because he came for me.  He came to save me before I even knew I needed a savior.  I began to sing along with Whitney Houston, “I love the Lord, he heard my cry …”

All week long as I shopped, not one cashier greeted me with “Merry Christmas!”  It was always “Happy Holidays!”  They may have been afraid to do otherwise; it's against company policy, politically incorrect, verboten, taboo.  It made me think back on my childhood, remembering the signs posted at Christmas time which read “Merry Xmas!” and “Xmas sale!” Even then, there was a movement to take the focus off of the real reason why we celebrate.  I thought it strange practice then and I still do now.  How can we have Christmas without Christ?  How can we celebrate this day, His day without inviting him in?  Yet, that is what I had done.  Something had replaced Christ in my Christmas.  I had allowed shopping and the giving of gifts to become my primary focus. 

Today, the “X” has taken on a new meaning for me.   It’s become my reminder to “insert Jesus here.”  Now, I feel much more laid back and relaxed about this holiday season.  My problem had a very obvious solution – you put the peanut in the peanut hole!  What a revelation!  Ever since I regained the proper perspective and put Jesus in his rightful place, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas …”

Be blessed,

Loria