New Wine

Often times, we promise ourselves that we’ll stay true to who we are.
That whatever we do in life, no matter where we’re at in our journey, that we won’t compromise the basic truths about what we stand for and what we deserve.
Dignity, they call it.

But those truths get hazy oh so very easily. That is, when the looming pressures of life and burden of success starts to weigh on our shoulders.
We begin to lose who we are. We begin to conform. And it seems everyone around you is adjusting to the fast-evolving world just fine.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the way our passions, our dreams, our love for things, & our belief in self continue to fade as time moves on.
And just like our adolescence, those things become jaded as if they were never once new.
And as jaded as they are, our instinctive nature responds accordingly. We simply accept it.
”We’re old now. This is just how life goes.”
I’ve heard it one too many times.

But when something I’ve cherished for so many years become too jaded, there are only two options.
It is either to find the beauty in the fermentation & repurpose it with a new perspective, or to simply replace it with something else that is new.

I remember hearing a sermon many years ago about new wineskin.
Old wine belongs in old wineskin, and new wine belongs in new wineskin.
Seems pretty simple, right?

But I feel like often times in our own lives, we try too hard to fit old wine into new wineskin. Or even worse, fit new wine into old wineskin.
We grasp onto old dreams so dearly, and try to fit it into the life we have now. We haven’t allowed God to speak new wine into our lives, so we’re stuck in past promises, wondering why they haven’t come into fruition. Or, God gave us a new direction, with new dreams & new promises - yet, we haven’t obeyed him fully enough to steward them correctly. We are unwilling to change our habits, our environment. We are afraid. And inevitably, we become stuck.

The beauty of allowing life to flow on, while inviting God into the simple things of daily life, is something I want to find and to treasure.
To fully trust that God is alive, with a moving heart & pending emotions, who is present in every situation and every tribulation, is to trust that He is someone worth going to. To ask, “What is Your heart asking of me today? How can Your child take part in your grand plan that is meant for good? How do you feel, Lord?”
And the answer to those very questions will steer me into the direction of pureness, true love, & the simple satisfaction in the sweet moments life has to offer.