St Johns with St Barnabas

I wonder what you conjure up in your mind if you think about new beginnings. Maybe you have had enough of the new and long for the comfort and reassurance of the old, rather like putting on an old pair of really comfy slippers, something you can rely upon, know where you are etc. I do have a certain amount of sympathy with that attitude, but I have always enjoyed experimenting with NEW, even if I decide no, that’s not really for me, and go back to my old ways.

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September spells new beginnings for many people, children and young people are off to meet new teachers, maybe a new school, or university for the first time. There are new uniforms, new shoes. For some of us older ones, it can be a welcome return to those groups we so enjoy that pack up for the summer, back to our friends and those conversations we have missed through the holiday period. But as we know only too well, some new beginnings have been thrust upon us and are not necessarily welcome - an illness, a bereavement, the break-up of a relationship, financial worries, to name but a few.

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John C Maxwell wrote, ‘change is inevitable, but growth is optional’. We cannot escape changes in life, but surely they are like all new beginnings, opportunities for growth. God want us to change and grow more like Jesus as we follow Him day by day. It is in gathering together with other Christians, praying together, encouraging one another through the good and the not-so-good, sharing our faith stories with others; it is in this way that we take small steps, and we begin to grow in our faith and discipleship.