It’s time to take down Christmas decorations! A huge chore, to say the least. But for me it’s just as thoughtful a task as decorating. Special ornaments are stored with care. Furniture and other items are returned to their rightful places. The home is once again renewed. Those related concepts — putting away, replacing, renewing — brings us to a new year…a new beginning…and a passage from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians: So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Cor. 5:17)

A new year has begun. We’ve lived through another year of COVID and we are still standing, and it’s good to remember that we are indeed being made new with each day that passes. God has a plan and we’re all part of it.

It’s time to put away the old and look ahead to the new. It’s time to rid ourselves of worry and anxiety and replace them with trust in God’s plan for our future. He has the map. We just have to follow it…

I have decided not to pack away at least one of my Christmas angels. She will remain in the kitchen, where I spend much of my time. She will be a reminder of the past Christmas joy, of the present wonder of God working in our lives. And she will stand as a testament to God’s future plans for His people. In Christ we are a new creation! The old has passed away…everything is made new.

About the author: Previously the priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Lake Placid for 21 years, Rev. Elizabeth L. Nelson is now the Priest at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in LaBelle..