“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” Mark 2: 21-23
It’s the season of newness. Fresh starts, clean slates. Calendars with stark, empty pages. Big goals. Bigger dreams. It’s the time of year when people resolve to lose weight, quit smoking and get out of debt. The old is gone; the new is here.
Sadly, most of these good intentions will last anywhere from a few hours to a few months. I’m still amazed at how often I attempt to fit my “old ways” into my new life—much like pouring old wine into new skins. The things I’ve given up seem to taunt and tempt me. “One more time for old times sake,” they say. “It won’t really hurt.” But just as the old skins cannot contain the new wine, so my old life cannot coexist with the newness of my life in Christ. They don’t go together, and something would end up ripping apart…and that something would be my life
The Lord knows we can’t make a patchwork quilt out of old and new habits. But I’ve still tried. And just when I think I have everything together, the seams start busting and it all falls apart. I’m reminded of King David’s resounding “if not for….God” in the Psalms. If not for God, we would be crying over the spilled wine of fruitless attempts at recovery. If not for God, the fabric of our lives would exhibit the gaping holes of loneliness and desperation. If not for God, there would be no new life.
Thank the Lord for new beginnings!
–ML
all i have to say is one giant AMEN.
we don’t deserve to have new beginnings…
but we can gratefully choose the hard unfamiliar ways over the comforting ways of the past.
Comment by melissa june — January 16, 2009 @ 6:36 am |
Hey Michele!
You’re doing an awesome job with the blog. It’s really cool. I’ve written posts about HM on our blog, like about the ice storm but it’s good to hear about it from someone else’s perspective. Especially staff who are older and wiser than I. We’re glad to have you with us.
Comment by Francesca Tso — January 20, 2009 @ 7:16 am |
your voice speaks of one who has been there, michele, and that means your gift is growing. there are things you can say because you have “been there” and the words you choose will be (somehow/reading is a mystery) found and used by others to create the mortar that holds their thoughts together, stronger, truer. that is one of the greatest things writing can do–thanks for helping us be human in the midst of new beginnings.
Comment by wendyc — May 19, 2009 @ 3:12 am |
Hi Michele,
I am so glad you are on the hill and still growing. It is great hearing things from your perspective as a former student…I mean resident and now as a staff. I always look forward to my one week visits on the hill. I get to see each season then get to leave to enjoy the Florida weather. Hang in there and keep stretching and growing. Graduation on the hill never means you are done. It just sets you free to climb the next mountain of life.
Lew G.
Comment by Lew Gervais — September 5, 2009 @ 12:19 am |