New Beginnings

Springtime is associated with with new beginnings. What paints a better picture than trees as they display their new leaves or flowers as their color and beauty spread across the landscape? Here's a photo I took from the deck of my friends' cabin in the north Georgia mountains last spring when I was doing research for my April book, HOMECOMING BLESSINGS. If only I had stopped and taken a photo of the Dogwood trees that were in full bloom when I passed through Atlanta on my way to the mountains.



The leaves were just starting to pop out on the trees on the hillsides above the lake when I took this picture. The signs of new beginnings were everywhere. The theme of HOMECOMING BLESSINGS is new beginnings for the hero, heroine and even her father. What better time is there to tackle something new than in the spring when we see so many signs of renewal?

Two scriptures come to mind as I think about new beginnings—one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 40:30-31.

³⁰ "Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

The other scripture comes from Romans 12:2.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—
his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Life is reassuring when we know that God is there to guide us and renew our spirits and our minds and give us the strength to make that new beginning. Whatever it is.