A fresh start

I have been thinking today about fresh starts... this morning was not such a fresh  start to a new year, Josh had been up a number of times in the night, making for a grumpy Mummy and Daddy this morning, especially when we were in a rush to get to church (Tim was preaching at the early service) and Josh didn't feel like getting out of bed; you can probably imagine the sympathy I felt for the poor little man and his sad plight.

By the time we got to church things had settled down, caffeine had been ingested, apologies made between Josh and I and soon we were happily playing in the nursery waiting for the caregivers to come. This afternoon I saw a marked change in the boys, both were in a reasonable mood, both wanted love and attention, both wanted to play, and both were fairly good (given the insanity of the last few weeks). While yesterday we had a dismal potty training day, today we had quite a few successes and as I prepare to get them into bed I am forced to think over 'fresh starts'.

We all have fresh starts, we all want fresh starts and somewhere between January 1st and January 5th we have forgotten the new year resolution we made and have reverted to our normal selves and nothing has changed... I am so bad at making and keeping resolutions that I tend not to make them so that I won't have to say I failed.

Today though, as I have been thinking on the concept of fresh starts I have been forced to think about clean slates, and that has led me back to the cross and it's purpose. Just a few days ago we celebrated the birth of Christ, and today in church we heard from Tim about how Christ was pronounced as the 'rescuer' by Simeon to Mary and Joseph when Jesus was only one month old, and it led to think about how dirty and sinful I am, and how desperate I am to be rescued. I left church thinking about how thankful I am that God sent his son, not just so we could celebrate every year on the 25th of December, but so that we might know a truly 'fresh start', a new year, a new life.

As I begin this new year of 2012 I feel renewed. No, I probably will not get my stuff all sorted out this year, my resolutions will probably be broken, but in the end, my slate has been wiped clean, my start is fresh every morning, and my death will lead to life in abundance and for that, and that alone I can relax the pressure I put on myself to find the 'peace' that I have been searching for through works, acts and deeds, and allow the spirit to fill me with joy and His peace. That is truly a fresh start!