the gaining of a soul

and so begins another year. full of hopes and yearning. full of dreams and intentionality. full of disappointment from last year's failures, and a certainty that this year will be different and better.

"the object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. it is that we should have a new soul." - gk chesterton

i spent new year's eve in uptown charlotte. there was a huge group of hare krishna followers. they were shameless. wearing unusual (in a bad way... ha) diaper/skirts. dancing. chanting. passing out pamphlets and location cards.

today posed the question, "would people respond the same way to Jesus and his twelve pals as they did to hare krishna's group, should they have walked down the street lastnight? (same way being: friendly, dancing with them, talking with them, etc.) or would shots be fired and riots created?"

i think everyone has something inside them that knows God is the real deal. that he has some sort of say in finality. that's why people would respond differently to hare krishna and Jesus. i wasn't afraid of those followers i was brushing shoulders with lastnight. their "god" is nothing to my Jesus. their "god" is one of peace and love. not judgement. with no judgement or guidance how are we to grow?

my dad has related himself and my mom to training wheels (for analogy purposes), as my brother tends to forget that he's twelve and still needs them. i'm but sixteen and want that help. i admit readily that i need my training wheels until i'm ready to ride my own bike of life (and when i want to stop mooching and pay for my own stuff).

i'm loving the fact that i have this confidant in Jesus. i love that i can pray to him or talk with him as a friend, not some unapproachable man swathed in white, who requires me to come to him with bare feet and much bowing. i love that when i have a burden, i can get rid of it through that love and guidance he so graciously provides when i call him my father.

and so i begin this new year, so that i may shed off my old self, and gain a new soul.