2new ~ Simplify for a great new year

Having some technical difficulties, but I still invite you to read on for the next part of 2NEW! And you could whisper a prayer for a little “divine help” technically. 😉

Who could’ve predicted the timing? 25 teenagers trickling in for a Christmas party when the lights went out. When squeals and giggles went dark, the wind could be heard laughing about the mammoth tree dropped on nearby power lines. We began a mad scramble for candles and forgotten wicks in wads of wax, lighting them and lining them up around the group of happy off-of-school kids. I hit the jackpot when my hands groped into the antique oil lamp of red glass. It would fill the room with light.

Snacks discovered and charades underway, the room flickered with small lights, but the jackpot lantern merely smoldered with disappointment. I trimmed and re-lit, but it defied burning, sputtering up a feeble line of white smoke. Never before had the faithful lamp failed me when I called on it to light the way. Defeated, I found my way from the room of lights and laughter into the black kitchen to put the cold beacon away.

When morning came and light with it, I lifted the lamp to the scrutiny of my eye. Inside the ruby bowl dangled a woven wick, frayed and dry, high above the oil. The lamp could not illuminate the darkness, because the wick was out of touch with the oil.

As we reflect on our months past, maybe we were called on to warm our world, to shine in darkness, to be faithful day after day after day. Maybe we became dry, unable to do more than cough up a trickle of smoke, wanting to light but only weary instead. Maybe the oil in your lamp was low, or maybe you simply dangled dry and high above the fuel supply. It may be time to reach down deeper or to refill the oil in the bowl to full. Only when we remove distraction, set ourselves aside, and reset our soul supply are we able to hear what God is saying to us.

In asking God to show us His path for this year, we began with time to Reflect. Now let’s reset our soul supply by creating some fresh space and clearing away the old, dry wicks. It’s time for, “ forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13b). If we’re going to ask God to show us how He sees our lives last year and what He dreams for us this year, we have to simplify our lives.

Let’s keep asking God to show us the real story of our lives, and let’s simplify so we can hear what He says.

If you’re catching up and need to Reflect, find the first step here.
Look here to find the printable  2NEW Simplify Card to use with a friend or on your own. I learned so much when I worked through the Reflect card with a loved one!

Share this post with a friend who is doing some thinking about where she’s been and what the year ahead will hold.

 

Did you live above the “oil” last year, or did you stay saturated all year long?