We take His name, but stay the same;
satisfied with self in our worldly wisdom.
We forget to let the old die,
just winterize it to stay comfortable
in the world as we know it.

But hanging on to the old
stops rebirth of the new.
In baptism we drown the old
so the new can flourish,
unless we hold self so tightly
that we remain frozen.

But, if we choose
to carry His death always in us,
a new thing springs up.
Look! Do you see it?
The mind of Christ growing in me,
His love flowing through me.
This is what I choose:
not my will, but thine.

~ Kathleen Evenhouse, November 25, 2023

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See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19, NIV

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Romans 6:4, NIV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17