The Season of Renewal & Restoration: Part 1

We are now entering the second month of the new calendar year of 2025. The New Year offers all the people of God, in whose image we are all created & with whom we are living in a covenant relationship with, the opportunity for renewal & restoration of our Spirits, a fresh start, so to speak. It is a custom in many cultures around the world for people to start off the New Year celebrating this opportunity by making New Year’s resolutions, statements of things they will change or that they need to change in some way in order to make their life: healthier, more whole in their mind, body & spirit & closer to reflecting God’s gracious Will, held out for them to live into & to reflect to others, for that is God’s Will for all of us. The question we all need to ask ourselves in this the second month of the new year of renewal & restoration, is whether our resolutions for this coming year reflect a new season of lightness or a season of darkness, of beauty or of suffering. God’s Will for us is to live an abundant life that reflects His Will & His Light for all of His creation. We are called & guided by Him to live into His Will.

There are many things that cause a person to feel that they are living in a season of beauty that reflects God’s light, or that they are living in the darkness in a season of suffering. The defining factor is generally strongly defined by the values & beliefs a person embraces. If you & your loved ones are living in relatively good health, living in a clean, safe environment & home, living in a peaceful community where there is no warring or violence, living in a place where all people are equal & loved, where forgiveness & justice & mercy are extended to all & living in a place where you respect & are respected regardless of your race, gender, religion, age, or culture, then it would make sense that you would more likely feel life is beautiful & reflecting the Light of God’s Love. People who are living in the Light generally feel primarily joyful & hopeful as they move through their days, which is God’s Will for His people.

On the other hand, if you or your loved ones are living in a situation with a serious illness that appears incurable or are homeless & living in an unclean or unsafe environment or live in a violent warring environment where justice & mercy are not extended, or if you are living in an environment where you are discriminated against because of your race, gender, religion, age, or culture etc., then you would most probably feel you are living in the darkness, in a season of suffering, to some degree. People who live in the season of darkness generally feel depressed & hopeless as they move through their days. They may be intentionally or unintentionally reflecting that darkness & possibly have no idea how to step into the Light, but it is still darkness, nonetheless. So, what can we do? What should our resolutions for this coming year be in order to embrace God’s Light, & to move ourselves & others from darkness into the Light of this beautiful life we have been blessed with?

~Posted by Rev Kathryn Bindig, MDiv. MS; Pastoral Care Minister with assistance from Rich Muscatello; Director of Business Development & Strategy