Who doesn’t like new? Whether it’s a new pair of shoes, a new mixer, or a new iPad, there is something about new that gives us a feeling of excitement, refreshment, and even hope. Come on! You can admit it. Getting something new puts a smile on your face and maybe even in your heart. I admit it! I like new!
Whether it is brand new or if it is just new-to-me, new things in my life refresh me and cheer me up, and that is especially true if the new thing is a gift. Gifts are so much fun, aren’t they? I have been blessed with an abundance of gifts. Everything from roses, to clothes, to sewing machines (it was refurbished), to the pillows I still use which were given as a wedding gift 30+ years ago. These were all gifts from people who care about me. That makes the new thing extra special and brings an extra big smile.
My mother knew how to give. I believe she thoroughly enjoyed giving and she could be very generous. However, like many things that are good and pleasing, she allowed the good of giving to turn into the bad of giving what she could not afford. I learned well from my mother, both the good and the bad, but that lesson is for another day. For now, I want to share with you a life lesson from my mother on the impact of a new thing.
One of my precious childhood memories is shopping at the end of summer for my new school clothes. My mom would choose the day and we would be at the department store when the doors opened. First, we would look for that “just right outfit” for the very first day of school: a new dress (yes, we wore dresses to school in the dark ages), new tights, new shoes, and even new “unmentionables” as we called them. (I’ve never quite figured out why items such as panties and training bras couldn’t be mentioned, but they weren’t.) Then, we’d scour the racks for blouses, skirts, leggings, and socks to mix and match to make up a week’s worth of attire.
Finally, after several hours of fitting rooms piled with clothes and numerous nods of approval or scowls of, “Not on your life!” we’d ride the elevator to the top floor of May Co. where the adult restaurant was eloquently tucked away in the back right corner. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant or what I ever ordered, but I do remember feeling very grown up. I sat up tall, elbows off the table, with my feet dangling under the chair sporting my new shoes. The old shoes were stashed in the newly acquired shoe box and tucked neatly in the shopping bag under my chair. I felt like a young lady and believe me, Mom made sure I acted like one!
Once home, I would gather all my new things and carefully arrange them in the closet and drawers. Yes, even back then I was obsessed about organizing things just so. (Little did I know that obsession was a gift.) However, one new thing did not get put away and that was my first day of school ensemble. The dress, the tights, the shoes, and the unmentionables remained laid out on my dressing table until that special day arrived.
In all the days of my tumultuous childhood, I do not remember a time when I felt more special and uniquely loved than waiting for the bus on that first day of school in my new clothes and shoes. Please don’t get the wrong idea. It wasn’t the new clothes that stirred such strong emotions in me. They were just a representation. It was having my mom’s undivided attention and my dad’s approval that warmed my insides. It was the new school year that made my young heart skip a beat. It was the new start that made my little palms sweaty. It was the fresh opportunity for new friends and renewed friendships (I rarely saw my friends over the summer) that whirled around in my mind. And it was the new experiences, new adventures, and new things to learn that gave me hope.
Something about a fresh start in a new grade gave me renewed optimism that maybe this year, my life would be different. Most often it was not. The same difficulties persisted. The same disappointments ruined. And the same pain enveloped. But, as I waited for that school bus in my new clothes waiting to start a new year, all those things were forgotten for just a moment and my child’s heart…hoped.
Discussion
II Corinthians 5:17 says we are new creatures in Christ. What does a new creation in Christ look like? What are some “old” things that keep us from being this new creation?
One Another Living 