There is something that I love about mornings.  I’m the type of girl that loves letting the morning sun pour in through my windows, the type to wake up extra early to enjoy an extended period of prayer time and coffee.  I haven’t always been like this, in fact, when I was growing up, mornings were my least favorite.  Funny how things change; how over the years there’s a newness to who we are becoming. We discover new ways that we have grown and we can also see The Lord loving us in new ways and calling us to love others in new ways as well.

For example, my parents just came to visit me, and usually, a visit from them stresses me out because they aren’t from around where I currently live.  I think their visits stress me out mostly because I put a lot of pressure on myself to deliver a good time, to make sure they are enjoying my home, and to ensure that they feel welcomed by the people they meet.  

I had been a little apprehensive in the days leading up to their visit.  I prayed and asked The Lord to give me peace, joy, and the ability to go with the flow.  I hadn’t planned out everything like I normally would and when plans did come up, I would let them decide if they wanted to do those plans or not.  It was very freeing, a freedom that I had not experienced before with my parents.

There was a “new newness” found in this freedom.  I thought back to the times where my parents gave me freedom little by little.  The time dad no longer had to hold the seat of my bike as I peddled.  The time mom let me cook in the kitchen on my own.  The time in high school that I realized that I no longer had a curfew.  And the time they dropped me off to a college 18 hours away from home.  I could go on, but my point is that they experienced a lot of newness in parenthood.

 
It is very interesting to me because this visit with them, I recognized a newness in being their child.  Trusting that they would be okay if I didn’t have an exact itinerary and trying my best to listen to them when they wanted to just sit and enjoy a conversation.  I loved seeing my parents with “new” eyes.  I felt that my love for them was free.  Embracing this new relationship was filled with interactions and ways of communicating that I had never encountered before as their child. All this to say, this got me thinking of my relationship with The Father.  

This year, I have definitely experienced a newness with Him.  Same thing with my earthly parents; new interactions, new ways of communicating.  This year, my love of The Father has become new; more trusting, more intentional in my interactions.  I love to anticipate something new that The Father wants to reveal to me in the day today.  My prayer for you, sweet sister, is that you allow Him to reveal a newness of love to you and that you are surprised by it, excited about it, and that it empowers you to love yourself and those around you more completely. 

May God give you the sweetest peace.