Welcome to the New Me!

Has your club or office ever done that "thing" where everyone brings in a baby picture, posts them on a board somewhere, and everyone is supposed to guess who is who? Maybe I'm dating myself. We don't even print pictures anymore; so do we do things like that anymore? Why was that so much fun? What is it about seeing our adult friends as they were when they were children? Why would someone sit next to in-laws for hours combing through old photos of their spouse? What is so fascinating about stealing a glimpse into someone's yesterdays?

My husband and I have been friends for about fourteen years; and while that seems like a pretty long time, we were complete strangers for many, many years before that. We can't always completely grasp who or how the other used to be. Although, I do have a distinct advantage. You see, Scott was a very different creature when we met. He was drinking heavily, struggling in many areas of his life, and burning the candle at both ends emotionally. But he possessed many sweet and wonderful qualities; I knew there was more to the story. He had grown up liking music, loving trucks, and being one hundred percent boy. He was the type of kid who needed someone to help him channel all that energy and attention into wiser and more productive pursuits. In short, he was -- just about -- the same person I met just a few years before we were wed.

And about that. Since we married, I have witnessed Scott becoming what God has destined him to be. And it has been a privilege and a joy! The man I knew, the man who would lose his mind at the slightest bit of traffic, who turned his back on people, and hadn't set foot in a church for more than weddings and funerals is so far from the one I share my life with now. I have been able to see who he was and who God is making him; I have seen that transformation from child to adult.

I suppose, if I hadn't had experienced his transformation for myself, I'd see Scott the way he sees me. He can't believe I was ever capable of any of the things I used to do. He sees me as some kind of "spiritual Level 5, 'cause of all the Bible you know." Sure, Scott has stood by, watching me change little by little as the Holy Spirit works in my life. But to see me as someone who has been in his shoes, who still struggles with some of the same things he struggles? Not a chance. And that's not a bad thing. What he sees is the progress of the Holy Spirit in my life. It's not a complete "Before and After", and I hope it will never be; but he sees today's "new me." And the fact he can't imagine anything else must mean he sees this "new me" often enough that, to him, it must be the normal me. That's progress. That's the Holy Spirit.

Progress encourages us. "If others can do it, so can I." Progress gives us a sense that things are improving and bringing forth good things. Who wants to be part of something stagnant and out of date? Progress gives us opportunity to praise God for His marvelous work. That's why it's important to us to look back momentarily, and celebrate how far we have come, how much we have learned, and all that God continues to do!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17