You Make All Things New

"You make all things new, when You walk into the room.

Would You walk into the room?"

(Colors [Spontaneous] by Bethel)

We live our lives so selfishly. Always thinking of us first... it's the way of our flesh. We spend our lives searching for things to fill voids in our minds, in our hearts, in our spirits. We try and when that doesn't work then we try again... it's the way of our world. We are convinced our voids will be filled and problems will be solved with money, sex, titles, things... it's the way of our culture. To the world these things are the way... but I long for something new! 

I am filled with a longing for a new normal. A desire for a new satisfaction. That my yearnings would match up with what makes me complete and whole not what just stirs up endorphins for a second. And I have found that in Jesus. You see, when Jesus showed up in Jerusalem the normal for them was to sacrifice, to make the temple a common market place, to judge everyone around them... it was the way of that time. But Jesus came and He challenged every 'normal' thought they had. He challenged them not for the sake of drama, but because He knew He was there to make all things new. He became their sacrifice; He re-instilled holiness; He brought grace! He was the new!

And as Jesus accepted every lash of the whip, every thorn from he crown, and as He carried His cross along that dirt road lined with people celebrating His pain... He kept us in His mind. He knew this would change the world, but more importantly He knew it would change our hearts. For God so loved us that He sent Him... it was the way of the Kingdom.

On this Good Friday I am saying to the One who bore my sin and shame, who shed His blood for my healing, that I want all things new! Transform my earthly mind that is stuck in the way of my flesh, the way of my world and the way of my culture and in it's place fill me with the things of Your kingdom Lord! Fill me with the fruit of Your Spirit and the power of Your love... make me new! 

Lord, I know that when You enter a room we can't help but be changed by You being there. So I invite You, I ask You, please come and make all things new!

Smell

I close my eyes and take a deep breath in... that smell! I allow it to settle. My mind immediately associates the pictures from past adventures and all I want is to be back in that chapter of my story with the characters who have helped shape the story line. It doesn't just trigger a memory, it triggers a smile, a tear, a laugh... it triggers my heart.

I'm certain you've experienced the same, right? You can probably even faintly smell the smell you're thinking of, or picture the memories that go along with it. It's funny how a thing so small, such as our nose, can completely remove us from the present and take us back to memories past. But I'm thankful that the Lord created us to work this way.

I have been fortunate in my life to be able to travel to many places and countries. And in doing so I have attached many memories to smells around the world. The smell of charcoal bbq on a warm night immediately brings me back to the streets of El Salvador. I can picture the kids chasing dogs and kicking balls around in their bare feet. I can feel the warmth of the air on my face. And I feel every emotion connected to what I felt in that country. Then there is the smell of dirt that takes me right back to South Africa. I feel like I am right back in tent revival services seeing women worship with abandoned all while 2 little ones are held close to their bodies with beautiful wraps. I can feel the presence of the Lord so strongly when this memory is stirred up!

There are also memories from my college days... one that often makes me laugh because of how silly I was, the smell of sweet pea lotion. I immediately feel myself back at the dorm bathroom after washing my hair and taking dabs of that sweet pea lotion in my hands and scrunching my hair. My curls were beautiful but I didn't think I'd ever be able to get rid of that scent! lol

Or the smell of old carpet! Whew, this one! Many a nights spent on my face before the Lord in a room of 20 or so people crying out for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done! There is just nothing like old, dusty carpet!

Every spring when the calla lilies bloom and I smell their sweet aroma I am immediately transported back to Easter as a child! We would go to church that morning and then head over to my grandparent's. My grammy would create this feast of amazing food and all the older cousins would go hide the eggs for us littles to go find. We would spend the entire day laughing and spending time with one another... It was the way the world was supposed to be!

But one of my favorite smells was that of fresh cut grass! One of my favorite people in the world always smelt of grass! Even in his Sunday best he just could not escape this smell. My grandpa was a man that loved to use his hands and when his days as a blacksmith were over and it was time for retirement he decided to take up yard work as a side job. When I smell that grassy smell I remember the many days he would pick me up from school and the ridiculous conversations we would have about the most non-sensical things. Or I laugh with the thought of him asking me to trim his eyebrows because they were so out of control (side note: this is probably why I have an obsession with keeping my eyebrows nicely groomed! lol). Or the many, MANY grocery store runs we would go on just so he could get out of the house. Man, those are some simply sweet pieces of my heart!

It amazes me how deeply rooted smells are in our memories. But I am so grateful to have them. Because even when the chapter is finished, and some of the characters have gone I am still able to reminisce of the part they played in my story. It also reminds me to take every moment in. There is no need to rush through everything I do or disregard the small moments that take place in life, because who knows where the next memory will come from!