A New Year, a new thing! – A new year is the perfect opportunity to establish something new or to begin again. That’s what I’m doing, starting something new, a blog.
A couple of years ago my husband and I were considering another new thing, moving from the comforts of a corporate world to the uncertainties of entrepreneurship, an idea we approached with prayerful trepidation. After all, who in their right mind gives up pursuing a regular paycheck and a 40 hour work week? Well, after a bit of soul searching, we did. We executed considerable research, calculated the risks, and found ourselves at a crossroads: to move forward or stay behind?
Up until that point my husband could see the new thing quite clearly but his poor wife, she could not. We became stuck hanging in the balances between “maybe,” and “no, not yet.” We remained there until a verse was spoken over me that promptly moved us forward. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and cut rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (ESV) Seriously, have you ever heard a clearer word from the Lord than that? Those words held a message meant just for me, “Woman, get a move on it!”
We did, we got a move on it. The road was really tough, I shed some big tears and pitched even bigger tantrums along the way. The process took way longer than expected but when God does a new thing, He really does it up right. He makes a way in the wilderness and cuts rivers through the desert. In July of 2014 we entered the world of entrepreneurship and a year later we opened our first store. As I look back on the journey I realize it took releasing my grip on the familiar thing in order to grasp the future.
Now, what does starting a business have to do with starting a blog, everything, especially Isaiah 43:19!
Life happens, changes and all, and I write about it. I have found that God uses change to pour out His love, provision and direction upon our lives. He turns our fears, tears and tantrums into opportunities to trust Him.
Blogging was a fearful thing for me. It hosts an audience much larger than the familiar places I tend to write, but I did it. Initially I resisted but not for long because once again I was prompted to get a move on it when I read the same precious words as before but this time on a blog site.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and cut rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)
Guess what? I got a move on it, I launched a blog and you are reading my very first post.
From both of these experiences I learn a valuable lesson: I cannot hold on to two things at one time; In order to grasp the future, I must release the limits of the familiar.