2020!

It’s here. A new year and a new decade.

2020, such a clean number to accompany countless invitations to fresh, new beginnings. An annual marker this symmetrical won’t come around again in our lifetime.

While the year is new to us, we know we’re not starting over with a completely new slate. We’re privileged to carry over many good things, including wisdom and experience, from prior decades.

And we also face some of the same challenges from our 2019 plate. These challenges didn’t all magically vanish when the Times Square ball dropped at midnight.

We want to eagerly embrace the new, while still appreciating what’s old. Let’s work on both sides of the equation, not just giving a hearty amen to that sentence’s second half. While we may affirm that we who are older deserve more respect and appreciation, let us, too, find room to eagerly embrace what’s new.

We don’t want to be older-adult equivalents to K-Mart. :)

(That tired store is closing in our hometown and in many other U.S. cities. A host of other past-era retail relics didn’t adapt so well to changing times. Our advance apologies to any K-Mart loyalists.)

We know we’re inclined to resist what’s new, especially as we grow older. But remaining open to what’s new helps us stay more relevant and needed—often less needy.

Remember, the ancient, elder-honoring Scriptures we’ve grown to embrace also include admonitions to:

·    Sing to the Lord a new song,

·    Not look down on young leaders because of their youthfulness,

·    Welcome God’s all-things-become-new transforming touch.

May this new decade bring out the best in all of us, and may God divinely lead us to something new!