Starting a New Story; a Christian Woman's New Beginning

Photo courtesy of Chris Rande

STARTING OVER

Are you anything like me? Are you a woman somewhere in the middle of your life but feel like you’re at the beginning?

Maybe you just went through a life adjustment like a change in marital status, a move, a career change or retirement, and/or your kids leaving home to go find their own beginnings.  Possibly you are investing in a new business interest, (re?)learning a skill or a hobby that you hope will grow into something bigger, are going back to school, or even starting a new diet/fitness program.

Even if the only alteration is your hair color, it’s still change! I went from years of being blond to becoming brunette to cover my increasing gray. (This sounds so embarrassingly vain as I write this, as well pushing the boundaries of run-on sentences. ) Perhaps that seems flippant, but it was a substantial adjustment. For one thing, my hair was dark, but my eyebrows were still blond resulting in further, uh, cosmetic modifications.  I went through a season of looking at my reflection and feeling like I was seeing an entirely different woman. It took time to grow into. It affected other people in my life too. Some liked the new look. Some didn’t. Occasionally reactions were unexpectedly strong! Of course there were those who felt free to share their unsolicited opinions, especially while I had incompatible eyebrows. In a very tangible sense, it was a new beginning.

THE HIGHEST PRIORITY

Photo courtesy of Pat Wise

More significant (than even hair color), maybe you realize that there’s more to this world than what you can see, touch, smell, hear, and taste. You sense that you were never meant to go through life alone. Perhaps, like me, you are rekindling a relationship with God that somehow fell to the bottom of the priority list just below descaling the coffeemaker and picking up the dry cleaning.

I’m not joking because I’ve done this.  Routine responsibilities overshadowed my relationship with my maker. It’s so easy for this to occur unnoticed, like a couple of pounds a year that creep up on you or a few extra charges on the credit card each month. Then one day you look at yourself (or your credit card statement) and think, “When did this happen?” Of course, I wouldn't know anything about either of those. Ok. Maybe I do.

Possibly you’ve just entered into a relationship with Him and recently accepted Christ as your personal savior. That’s not just a beginning, that’s the beginning. I'm thrilled for you, because it is an awesome one!

BEGINNINGS FOLLOW ENDINGS

Photo courtesy of Kat Kelly

Beginnings follow endings. Unlike fiction which typically moves from start to end, real life is cyclical. “The End” is just followed by another beginning. Endings usually are a result of change. It’s when something changes, either externally or internally, that we take stock of where we are at, and more vital, where we are headed. This is one of the many reasons change is good, though often uncomfortable. OK, frequently uncomfortable, but necessary. I recently went through a divorce, and I’ll be 50 in a couple of months (or like a kid might say, “I’m 49 ¾ “, and yes, there are 49 year old children).

The dissolution of my marriage was a traumatic “end” for me. It was not something that I wanted, but it happened. However that ending creates so many possible beginnings. The conclusion of half a century of living causes me to evaluate how I spent those years and how I want to engage in the upcoming ones. While presented with so many choices, one thing I do know is that I need to grow more solid in my relationship with Christ.

I wonder what the previous fifty years (49 ¾) would have been like had I put Him higher on my daily to-do list than checking my email. I’m ashamed, but just being honest. However rather than lament over former choices, I need to avoid "rear-view mirror thinking". If I only look in the rear-view mirror while driving, I’m guaranteed a head on collision. What if I run into an overflowing garbage truck or one of those tricked out SUV limos that cost more than my house? That would be awkward.

"Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:18-19, HCSB)

ARE YOU WITH ME? THEN LETS DO THIS!

So here we are, at a beginning, or maybe you are approaching one. What are you looking forward to? What are you apprehensive about? Don’t focus on regrets (and plow into that expensive SUV limo). While regrets can inform your future by letting you recognize choices you might not want to repeat, don’t let them impair it. I invite you to join me in the beginning of not merely another chapter, but a whole new story!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

Photo courtesy of Shannon Swift

God bless you - Mimi

RECOMMENDED LINKS

Read a brief article on Christian women and divorce.