The trees are in bloom, the sun is shining, spring cleaning is all around us, and the birds are building their nests for the little babies that will be on their way in only a short while – spring is here! This week is our first of the spring season, and with it comes a beautiful new beginning. The old things of fall and winter are passing away as the world makes room for the lovely newness that comes with this spring season, a fresh start.
On beautiful days like today, I am reminded of a quote that is near to my heart.
“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
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Though it may seem easy to see spring as a fresh start, the truth is, every single day we live is a fresh start. God gave us new years, new seasons, new months, and even brand new days to give us the chance to start anew. We even have the reminder that His mercies are new each day (Lam. 3:22-23). With that in mind, how do we truly capitalize on the beginnings we are given?
1. Take time to be intentional.
It can be so easy to let every day go by without even considering living intentionally, yet, it is crucial that we be intentional on a day-to-day basis. Whether that mean keeping a daily planner or simply following a specific routine for yourself and your kids for their homeschooling, choose to be intentional and live in the moment regardless of how yesterday went. Today is a new day! Embrace the beauty of a fresh slate.
2. Allow yourself to move on.
Every day we experience failures and successes. We go through the ups and downs of being productive, procrastinating, overcoming weaknesses, and discovering more flaws that we did not even know we had. With that in mind, my dad used to tell me often,
Give yourself 24 hours to grieve a failure or celebrate a success.
There are times we just need to move on, and something I like about my dad’s reminder is that it highlights the fact that there are actually times we need to move beyond failures as well as successes. Just as previous failures do not guarantee future failures, just because we succeeded once does not mean we are guaranteed a future success. In some ways, successes can be just as debilitating as failures if we do not choose to move on and tackle the next project we have to complete, the next mountain we have to climb.
It is crucial that we have the mental courage to move beyond both our failures and victories and take time to truly consider the future which leads to our next point.
3. Think positively about the future.
A famous missionary once said,
The future is as bright as the promises of God.
– Adoniram Judson (link here)
Let us remember just how bright and precious His promises really are. God has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us and that He also goes before us in our journeys (Deut. 31:8). He also promises us peace and hope if we are willing to find it in Him and His precious will. Though it can be so easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day struggles and challenges, each day is new, and the future truly is bright for the born-again Christian.
I know that the daily grind can be very hard. It can be so difficult to forget that yesterday’s to do list did not get done. In cases like that, a “fresh start” can seem very elusive. Nevertheless, it can be so helpful and encouraging to start each day with a clean slate, moving on from the past and looking forward to the future.
To go back to the beginning of this post, Lamentations 3:22-23 says,
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
I love that the verse ends with the phrase “great is thy faithfulness.” God says in 2 Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” What a precious thought! God’s got this. He has given us a brand new day with brand new mercies and His faithfulness that never fails! He is worthy of our all. May we take advantage of all He has done and love and praise Him for all He is each and every day.
What does a fresh start mean to you? How do you find inspiration in each new day? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!
Until next time
