Every new calender year always feels like turning over the pages of a book and starting a new chapter… a new beginning.
A new beginning is’nt only at the start of the new year however. The start of a new job, moving to a new place, starting a new business, becoming a mother for the first time, starting a marriage, a partnership… these are all new beginnings.
Essentially, stepping into a new role, position, or place could be considered a new beginning.
When stepping into a new chapter, we’d prefer to let go of the things in our past that were weighing down on us, the things that made it hard for us to function to our best and full capacity. We’d rather start on a new slate. That’s why at the start of a new year many people put down ‘New Year Resolutions’, create vision boards, write down goals and so forth.
However, is it always that easy to let the old ‘baggage’ go and start on a clean slate?
Sometimes you want to look into the future but all you see are scars from the past. Open wounds that don’t seem to be healing, past traumas that keep you awake at night, past decisions with ongoing consequences you still have to face…
Sometimes it feels like the past will keep haunting us.
A new marriage for example, could get affected by decisions that were taken in the past, the loss of a loved one leaves such a scar on a person that remains with them forever, past failures and rejection could cripple a person’s faith and hope.
So how do we start afresh with all this baggage from our past?
Stop Waiting For Things To Get ‘Perfect’ Before You Move On.
The famous song of Ron Kenoly goes: “If you catch hell don’t hold it, if you’re going through hell don’t stop. Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead”
You have to figure out a way to carry on while dealing with the issues from your past. You can still pursue new goals and take on new projects while dealing with the pain, mistakes and repercussions from the past.
Good thing for us Christians is, we have help! We don’t have to do it alone. When Paul was trying to pray his pain away, God told him; ‘My Grace is sufficient for you… My power is made perfect in weakness” (2Cor 12:9).
With the help of God, you can start that new chapter while dealing with the past failures, pain and mistakes.
Don’t Let Your Past Define Your Future.
Eventhough you have to live with the realities of your past, they don’t have to define or dictate your present and future.
Maybe you have had many failed businesses in your past and though you want to move on, the fear of failing again is stuck with you. Past disappointments, rejection, loss, grief… these don’t easily leave a person. However they don’t have to define what your future will be.
Be Part of a Community of People Who Can Spur You on.
These days there’s a lot of talk of self sufficiency. Lots of quotes I see flying around social media around the theme of “All you need is you”. No, that’s an erroneous idea and it’s definitely not true. All you need is not you! You need people! People from whom you can get inspiration, people who can hold you up when you’re down. Also, it’s important to surround yourself with the right kind of people especially in your vulnerable moments.
So if you’re trying to turn over a new page but your past still seems to be very much present. Still seems to be weighing you down, remember that you don’t have to have it all together before you can move on.
Pain and joy, failure and success, can co-exist. Stop Waiting for everything to be perfect before moving on with your life. The grace of God is sufficient for you.
Remain blessed