Monthly Reflections – Time For a Fresh Start
Time For a Fresh Start
On occasion I will get a message on my phone that it has been a long time since I have restarted. It seems that my “smartphone” knows that at times you just need a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning. If we go too long without a fresh start, the phone can get bogged down, a little slow, and its ability to process is not as efficient. Time to restart.
I have learned that I need that too – a chance to restart. Sometimes a conversation takes an unintended turn and we want to stop and start over. Sometimes a relationship begins a negative spiral and we want to start over. Sometimes our relationship with God needs a restart. Over the year I can get bogged down, attempt to process too many things, and not give energy to my relationship with God. My spiritual life begins to feel weak. I no longer have the processing ability to handle all that life requires. I need a fresh start. I need to restart.
January begins a new year. There is something sacred about beginning a new year. It reminds me of my need and the opportunity to begin fresh again with God. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past, seek forgiveness for the places I fell short, to receive God’s grace, and to celebrate God’s offer to start clean. John Wesley celebrated a covenant service at the beginning of the New Year.
An opportunity was given to repent (to turn or think differently), receive grace, celebrate this grace through the sacrament of Holy Communion, and renew our covenant with God. We continue this tradition on the first Sunday of January. This year it is on January 1. I love this service. There is something energizing about a fresh start, a clean slate.
This New Year, I encourage you to pause and restart. To begin the New Year with a renewed covenant with God, to set the tone for the remainder of the year.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSV)
17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
Happy New Year and may God bless you and yours.
Rev. Dr. Terry Moore
Senior Pastor