New Season. Still Me.

So if you read my blog, you know that I'm a new mom.  No, I'm not going to turn this into a mommy blog. There are plenty of those out there, and I'm still in the learn as you go/"choose your own adventure" stage of mommy hood.  However, from time to time the life lessons God is teaching me through being a mom will spill over into my blog,  just as the life lessons He teaches me through marriage, friendship, and work have been and will continue to be shared.  As a new mom, I'm definitely in a new season of life, doing new things, making new mistakes, experiencing new fears, smelling new smells.  My priorities have shifted, my focus has changed, and my daily schedule has been radically altered.  Some of the new things are comical, some sweet, some exhausting, some scary, and some just down right surprising.  Some of the surprises started during pregnancy and caused me to not recognize myself at times. For example,while I was pregnant I didn't like sweets or chocolate very much, but once again I can devour a whole bag of double chocolate Milano cookies in a day (I'm not recommending this, I'm just saying I can).  I've spent my entire life being cold, but during pregnancy I had the A/C cranked to such a low temp, my husband was wearing sweats to bed in June!  It was pretty funny a few weeks ago when I looked at him and said, "Why is it so cold in our bedroom?" Well, it was funny to me.  It  was easy to think that in the midst of this new season of life, I'd become a completely new person especially since so many of my usual likes and habits changed with pregnancy, but as I return to my "normal", the truth is I'm the same me, with a new layer.

The Bible tells us when we accept Christ, we become a new creation.  We are made new by the blood of Christ, washed clean of our sins, viewed as righteous by God.  This invaluable change that comes with salvation is truly a gift.  I was so excited by the idea of being a new creation when I was a new Christian because there was so much of the old me that I didn't want to be.  However, I quickly realized that while it is true that God views me as righteous, I still had the ability to fall back on old habits and old choices.  Paul talks about this in Galatians:

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.  

                                                                                                        Galatians 5:16-17

A personal relationship with Christ gives us the Holy Spirit who empowers us to make good, right choices.  The key word here is choice.  We choose how we live as believers. We choose from moment to moment what to do, how to respond, what to look at, where to go, and who to befriend.  God has given us the ability to do right, but that doesn't mean we can just coast through life and not make any effort.  Don't fool yourself into believing that you don't have to resist your old habits and temptations.  The enemy is going to use those against you first!  However, you have been made new in that you have the ability to resist those temptations through the power of the Holy Spirit, and as a new creation you will develop new skills, new wisdom, and new strength as you walk through life as a Christ-follower.

As we grow in Christ over the years, we will not just develop our new selves, we also enter new seasons from time to time.  Maybe for you that season is moving into adulthood as you leave your parents home and go out on your own to college or the workforce.  Maybe your new season is moving from the single life into marriage.  You may be a new mom, like me, or you may have sent your baby to kindergarten this year. You may be healing from divorce as you start over on your own, or perhaps you're an empty nester for the first time.  Whatever the new season of your life, it is important to remember that you are still the person God has shaped you to be.  All of the strength, wisdom and knowledge of God you acquired before goes with you in the new season.  Yes, you will face some of the old temptations, but you also have the legacy of victories that God has walked you through in your past to strengthen you as you resist. Be careful not to over or under estimate the new season you are entering.  If you are intimidated by your new season, know that God is just as present and capable as He has always been in your life.  If you are excited about your new season, be sure to not let your guard down; put on your armor and be ready for attacks that will come in this new time.   New seasons will bring new challenges, new joys, new obstacles, and new victories. What you bring with you into that new season is what matters.  Pray, spend time with God, read the Bible, and surround yourself with other believers so that you can be ready for the ups and downs of your new season.  A new season is just an opportunity to add to your story and God's glory.