We are in week two of the new year, and many of us have probably already did things we said we wouldn’t do or didn’t do things we said we were committed to doing. We are human, but if we truly want 2023 to be different, we must toss out the trash from last year.
I don’t know about you, but my neighborhood is full of bulk trash right now. The city was supposed to pick it up by Christmas. Instead, it is piling up: boxes from gifts, old furniture, broken equipment…a mish-mash of items slew across the sidewalks. Such a lovely sight – NOT. People intended to get rid of this stuff, but the junk isn’t truly gone until it is picked up and tossed at the dump. Right now, we all get to see it.
Our negative thoughts and bad attitudes are the same way. They don’t just leave us; we have to kick them to the curb. Even then, they will haunt us unless they are put in their rightful place: the dump. And like the curbside garbage, others see our attitudes through our behavior. Our behavior won’t change until we chose to think and believe differently.
Doubts, fears, grudges, blaming others, anger, victimhood…they all need to be tossed out and replaced with hope, faith, and love. When we eliminate them from our life, we change. Those things we said we would do become easier because our behavior is supported by our attitudes.
Are you watching The Chosen series? We were late to the party, but we just started Season 3. It is a powerful, life-changing program. I thought I would be disappointed because of all the hype, but I’m touched deeply by it. It is like having Jesus in your living room with you!
At the conclusion of Season Two, Jesus gave His sermon on the mount. Over four thousand came, and everyone was affected by it. At the beginning of Season Three, Jesus sends His followers home for a reprieve. They eagerly go visit family and friends, but they are not the same people who left. Matthew is no longer a tax collector, and Mary is an upstanding citizen. Everyone sees the changes of their hearts by their new actions and behaviors. Reconciliation transpires. You see, by following Jesus, they gave up everything and tossed their garbage out. They are new creations.
Each January provides us the opportunity to start anew…a fresh start. I hope you have set some goals and have let go of those things that held you back in 2022. Jesus can cleanse you of the garbage that crept in and fill you up with everything good and pure. If you aren’t following Him yet, He won’t push you but rather waits patiently for you to accept His gift. He has already chosen you and loves you.
I’m a coach who doesn’t exclude our faith in the process. I’d love to help you be all God has called you to be! Give me a call to discuss my approach to see if we are a fit.
Ginger Stahl says
I love your analogies, or is it metaphors??? You take things we know about and show how the example is just like things in our lives that need some attention. I think Jesus used these in His parables – stories that need some explanation – and they we ‘see it!’