A Great Day to Start Again

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
   his mercies never come to an end;
     they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.    Lamentations 3:22-23

As my daughter was excited to tape and watch the Royal Wedding this morning, my mind went back some 30 years to another Royal Wedding.  I recall how that seemed like such a fairy tale at the time.  Then through the years as we learned more of the pain and difficulties in the marriage, that fairy tale faded. Then came the divorce.  I remember watching with tears as later we heard of the tragic and seemingly senseless death of Diana. 

Today as the world watched with interest and excitement the wedding of William and Katherine, future King and Queen of England I see the same sense of magic and fairy tale that I saw back when I was my daughter's age.  It is as though today is a fresh start.  With that thought in mind this morning, I read a friend's FB post quoting a Billy Idol song from the 80's.  Now the song is pretty tough, and not your usual theme for a wedding... but I like the thought in the refrain "It's a great day to start again".

So, it got me thinking...yes, by now you are learning that all sorts of things get me thinking, but just go with me here :-) ... some of us have come through that same cycle of hope and fairy tales in our own life.  We were healthy, once, and the whole world was in front of us...the possibilities endless.  Then some more difficult realities came to light. It was not as we had hoped or planned and the fairy tale faded. Some tragic and painful things may have occurred, and the fairy tale ended.

Our hopes and expectations in life don't always come true. Brokenness, pain, and the difficulties of living this life often break in. It can break our hearts, our spirits and our bodies.  The good news is that our broken dreams and expectations are not the end.

God sees and understands more than we ever can...including more possibilities than we can ever imagine. And the mercy...the undeserved goodness and tender care of God encompasses more of our lives than we would dare to expect...or hope.  The mercy of God, we are told by the writer of Lamentations, is new every morning.  Interestingly, Lamentations is a book full of cries to God about the pain, brokenness and tattered hopes of life. Out of that darkness, we see the spark of faith shine through...

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

No matter what we have faced, no matter what we are facing, the words of scripture ring out today to declare that God's mercy and hope are more powerful than any fairy tale, and God's truth is stranger and more wonderful than any dreams.  The Risen Lord comes to us this day from across time and millenia to remind us that indeed a new day has dawned, and no matter what the past has held, today is a new start.
We get to put away old, broken, battered dreams, and begin to see with new eyes, the possibilites that God sees within us, and within this world. 

Today may our hearts and minds be opened to new hope, new possibilities, and a new start....every morning.

Lord, We thank you for your mercies even as we know well the brokenness and pain of this life. In the midst of broken dreams and real hurt, help us to keep our eyes on you so that the darkness doesn't blind us to the work you are already doing. Give us the eyes of faith to see that you give a frest start each day, and fill us with your hope.  Amen.