Put off the Old. . . Put on the New 💮

Just as animals or insects enjoy the skin they're in for awhile, then grow and change and shed that old skin to make way for the new skin that fits them. . . even we, no matter our age or season of life may find that we have outgrown the skin we're in. . . or our clothes don't reflect who we have grown to be! I'm not talking about our literal clothes or skin, but our lives, our jobs, the things we surround ourselves with. One day we realize that our "old selves" don't fit.

It's usually an uncomfortable season before we realize why we feel as we do. The job that was such an answer to prayer becomes a burden. The ways we loved to spend our time start weighing us down. We know there is more out there. We know our heart has outgrown our capacity (in our old skin, clothes, job, environment) to express itself. 

Listening to a podcast by Emily P. Freeman called The Next Right Thing, she talks about how to leave the room. When you walked into the room, it was the right room. You were thankful to be there, everything fit. Then slowly, as you look around, you begin to realize it's not the right room any more. 

Sometimes God redirects us through events or situations that to us, feel more like rejection.  As we trust in God's leading and trust that His path is before us, we can step out in faith. It feels as if we will fall, that we're stepping off a cliff, away from what was once secure. The security, safety, stability isn't there any more. The feeling that we belong isn't there. So we strike out to find that space that fits us, the room we want to be in.

Lord, I will accept your garland, your oil of gladness, your cloak of praise, your garments of salvation and your robe of righteousness. I will trade in my ashes, mourning and disheartened spirit. I will welcome this new season and learn to be comfortable in my new skin.

Isaiah 61:3, 10

Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,

Ephesians 4:22-23

 That, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.