Have you ever seen the meme that says something like this: “Ok, I have a free 45 minutes. Hmmm . . . what should I do? Add a basement to the house? Learn to play the cello? Master calculus? Learn German?” I personally laughed one of those deep, tears-streaming-down-my-face guffaws when I first saw that because, boy, can I relate!

There’s something about the pull of “the new”, especially if it reinvents me, that holds an allure. I think it would be very wise and convenient to have a basement, so of course, I will do that when I have 45 minutes. I want to be a master musician in multiple instruments, so yep, 45 minutes? Someone find me a cello. I also want to be brilliant and multi-lingual, so with those few spare moments I have, let’s finally figure out the abstract notion of limits in calculus and let’s master the complex case system in German. (And yes, I googled both of those).

Of course, that’s absurd. Experts say that we need about 10 years of daily, 45-minute spurts of anything in order to master it. Logic tells me that, but oh, my heart and mind want to grasp something new. I want to be new because the same old me is well boring and frankly, sometimes disappointing.

And this time of year, unless you never go on your phone or never turn on the television, you can’t help but be bombarded with messages about becoming new. January is all about the new exercise routine, or the new budget, or the new chore chart, or the new hobby, or the new . . . new . . . new . . . everything new. The promise of new can be intoxicating and, ultimately very distracting.

This year, though, I want to invite us to consider something different. Instead of searching for something new, why don’t we look to Him as faithful and true and instead be renewed? Instead of grasping for something different, let’s look to Him, who always has been and always will be, and instead be renewed. Instead of buying more, trying more, seeking more, why don’t we look to Him, who is our all in all, and instead be renewed? Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

New isn’t bad. It’s just that renewed is so much better. Deep dive into His Word. Spend time in worship. Fall on your knees and pray. Be renewed in Him in 2025 and it will be a better year, in all the ways that matter, than you could ever hope for.

In Christ,
Holly