I’ve been in a season of transition and growth over the past year or so, which I guess sounds exciting, but feels more like natural childbirth (beautiful but terrifying). 

While enduring an especially challenging time this month, I began reflecting on my New Years goals like I do every December…but it all just felt flat. No matter how ardently I tried scribbling down all the habits I wanted to begin or give up this next year, I just kept on reverting to this singular thought: I wish I could have a complete reset.

It might sound tropey, but really…what if on any day, New Year or not, we could start life with an entirely clean slate? What if we could wake up and live without any hindrance from the past….no falsely held identities, no remorse holding us back…just a total do-over. New habits. New behaviors. New perspectives…

If this were possible, who would you become? I would be less self-focused, more content and more surrendered. I would also love the superhuman power to avoid all carbs and narcissists, but let’s save that for another blog. : )

I think sometimes as we get older, we either consciously or subconsciously adopt an imbalanced acceptance of ourselves. I’m solidly in my forties now, and at this point, accepting disappointment can feel easier than hoping and praying through yet other decade. You kind of start thinking, well, I’ve always been impatient, so maybe this is just my cross to bear (brought daily by that mercilessly slow-talking co-worker). If you’ve been struggling to be healthy since ’96, praying for the Second Coming feels a more viable option than reassuring yourself this is the year you’ll go Keto.

But deep down we know this isn’t the way…or at least God’s way.

There are more than 100 Old and New Testament scriptures expounding on our ability to transform into new people with God’s help, including one of the most well-known: 2 Corinthians 5:17:  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Notice this verse doesn’t say we’ll become slightly leveled up versions of ourselves, like the kind we present at parent teacher conferences or a first date. He says we become new creatures entirely. Revelation 21:5 says, “He’s making all things new,” which thankfully, includes our vices, moral failures and consistent character flaws that no longer define us, and have authority to perpetuate.

It all sounds peachy enough, but I think our skewed view of God’s timing trips us up and even leads us to settle or give up on ourselves when our “new self” doesn’t surface at the rate of expectancy.

We want the old things (selfishness, insecurities, lack of self-control, anger, etc.) to pass away instantly and we want the new things (joy, peace, contentment, graciousness, etc.) to happen just as quick. Obviously, right? Half the nation is stabbing themselves with Ozempic-filled needles right now because health risks be darned, it’s quicker and easier than hitting the gym.

But in reality, becoming a new creation takes time. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says all believers are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory that comes from the Lord. It’s a process. We can definitely experience spurts of progression, especially after meeting Jesus for the first time, but then we often become disillusioned because we feel it’s “too late” to become the version of ourselves we’ve always imagined.

As we get ready to experience the blessing of another year walking this Earth, consider the magic and power of an actual reset. Spend some time meditating on the chasm existing between who you are right now, and who you’d love to be. Have you accepted parts of your life, or things about yourself that you know aren’t God’s will, but you’re just plain tired. of hoping?

All our lives are so nuanced, so every redo looks different, but this one empowering truth is the same: God never gives up on us. Don’t settle for a medium life just because you’re in the middle of it.  Cheers to your reset and happy ’25….I hope it’s unlike any year before. xo

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