22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24 (NRSV)
About this time of year, I get “New Crayon Syndrome,” so I am a little envious of your children who have been stuffing their shiny new backpacks with all sorts of fresh-as-a-daisy school supplies. I am one of those nerdy kids who LOVED school and by the end of July couldn’t wait to go back. I was a great fan of nearly all of my teachers (nearly all) and every subject. I enjoyed classroom dynamics and was generally the obnoxious kid who raised her hand first and highest to try and give the right answer. I may have mentioned to you before how much I thrive on affirmation and school was the ripe environment where I could find a ready supply of warm “fuzzies” if I played my cards right. You may be able to guess that I generally colored WITHIN the lines.
So, as a kid, this time of year was one of my favorites. It was full of new possibilities, the symbol of which was the newly-purchased and pristine supplies—such as a plastic-wrapped package of lined notebook paper, a three-ring binder waiting to be organized by subject, no. 2 pencils, and best of all in my younger school days, a pack of at least 48 Crayola crayons with sharp points and a distinct waxy smell that was quite intoxicating to me as I surveyed my bounty!!
We are a few weeks away from the cooler breeze that will indicate fall has arrived, but already I feel change in the air. Some people mark the first of January as the time of year they feel the drive to begin projects or take on new habits, but for me, it has always been the impending arrival of fall that triggers something within me to move toward new beginnings.
When I was 14 years old and beginning my freshman year of high school, I experienced just such a turning point. The fall of 1974 marked the time when I became neat and organized! One Saturday morning, I looked around my messy room, the source of much parental angst and the epicenter of many family “discussions,” and decided to clean it up. I announced to my parents that I was going to find a place for everything and I intended not to be messy again. I now know that parents DO roll their eyes and I imagine Ann and Gene Lambert doing just that out of my line of vision. But guess what? Something clicked in me that day, or maybe it was an evolution already in process, given evidence by the cleaning frenzy that ensued one Saturday morning when change was in the air. I did find a place for everything that day, in tandem with a new habit of returning things to their appointed spot after I used them! My resolution did not take me to an obsessive or fanatical place, but it brought order to my life. I haven’t really looked back.
Any place you are being nudged to make a little change or course correction? Today is as good as any. This is a different kind of fall. Many of our new beginnings have been postponed. Some of our familiar fall rituals may be delayed or cancelled altogether. But no matter, we can count on the fact that God is still the author of “doing a new thing!” He has new mercies for you and for me each morning. There is no time like the present to learn something new, try out a new routine, clean up a mess, build something, read a different kind of book, have an adventure, take a new route to get where you are going, pause when you would normally hurry, hurry when you would usually procrastinate…you get the idea.
Morning by morning new mercies I see! If you try something new or take on a project you have been putting off, email me with a picture or a description and I will tell you what I am doing! Believe it or not, fall is in the air!
Oh God, you are truly faithful and give great new gifts to us every day. You guide us with your creativity and inspire us with hopeful new direction. Help us to be open to something new in our lives today! Amen.
Blessings,
Laura
