New Beginnings...

***This post is taken from Morning Praise and written by Terrie Ruff****

Behold I make all things new. Revelations 21:5

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

The warmth from the October sun felt good as a I walked in a nearby park.  The gentle breeze made the weather seem perfect and refreshing as I soaked in nature's abundance.  With each lap I smiled as I felt the hardened brown leaves under my feet, each making a unique crunching sound.  Very soon these leaves, which looked so fragile and lifeless, would be replaced by the new, green, lively leaves of spring.
New beginnings.Those who don't have a relationship with Christ come to mind.  They too seem hardened, fragile, and lifeless as the brown leaves of fall.  They too are often stepped upon by the weight of our uncaring, unloving, and lack of acceptance, or, as one pastor stated, the weight of our "long memories"- our unwillingness to forgive and forget mistakes of the past.  They are often treated like the brown leaves we gather and disregard because there is no use for something in which we so no potential.  Yet Jesus commissions us to love unconditionally and see the good, the potential in others.  We should see others through His eyes, who knows that failures are never final!  He always wants us, and as His ambassadors we must follow His example.  We must gather into our arms those without a relationship with Him, and provide a covering, a shelter of safety, love and acceptance.
A special friend reminds me daily of how such a covering can aid in rebuilding and reconciliation.  Many have seen him as a failure because of past mistakes made before he had a committed walk with God.  But now he has a circle of Christian friends who love and accept him just as he is, no strings attached.  He has friends who believe in the God of second chances, the God of new beginnings.  Although it's fall and the leaves of nature are brown, fragile and lifeless, in the life of my precious friend it's spring!
I'm smiling again and walking with more rapid stride, my eyes filled with tears of joy as I witness God's gift of restoration and reconciliation.  What an awesome privilege to have been chosen to be a part of such an experience!  My friend is becoming a new creature in Christ!  I marvel at God's gift of a new beginning.
By Terrie Ruff