"Living in the Shadows"

I have a friend who changed her name..

Wow!! That is seriously brave..

I asked her why..

She said simply with a contented smile, that she never really liked her first name. She told me it caused her to feel a measure of pain and she knew it was time.

Because of family history, she also knew that choosing her new name wouldn't hurt feelings.

Some still insist calling her by her old name,(which she understands) 
after all, change is hard... 

while others, realize...

that choosing a new name is probably the most incredible gift you can give yourself, in more ways than one.

As far back as we remember, God has been in the business of changing hearts, changing names and changing one's destiny.

Such was the case of Abram...

"No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations."

Genesis 17:5

Every moment before (even his regrets)....
were leading to his redemption. 
It was a pillar stone worth remembering, when God revealed his destiny and changed everything.

Others experienced the same renewal
Jacob (known to us as Israel)
Simon (known to us as Peter), 
and Saul (known to us as Paul)....

Jesus, gave them...each one....so much more, than a new name...

He gave them a new identity and a new purpose. 

A new name was magnificently given to reflect change.

Now for my friend, I think her choosing to begin fresh is significant. 
She fully recognizes the old label...her old identity. She is simply 
choosing to not live under the old moments any longer.

I told her, I thought she was brave..and she is.

These are the very type of situations that should stir our own minds and hearts to go deeper.

There are often times in my life...
when I find my mind floating back to moments that for some reason have set themselves as milestones...

cornerstone labeling moments that I have allowed to define me.

Moments...that have captured a corner of my mind, seemingly trying to cast a shadow over who I once was..and who I am becoming; moments that tell me....

I never measured up.

Bad. Ugly....and regrettable...they are there...and....

we all have them..

However,  as I've grown....through the years..

I realize, those old moments belong in the sea of forgetfulness.

These old memories that try and label us...must be reigned in...

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

2 Corinthians 10:5

These same thoughts, that once reigned, must be cast out....

Like any good ocean- that washes clean, we must be willing for them to be thrown out to sea....

and remembered no more.

Do you have certain reminders that play out in your mind?

haunting thoughts of days gone by?

Is it time for a change?

Time for a new way of living and thinking? 

While you can certainly keep your given name, 
consider this; 

Might it be time for Father to renew you?

Why should you allow the old moments to define you, when He tells you differently?

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: 

The old has gone, the new is here!"

2 Corinthians 5:17 

Sure, there are those who won't let it go. But does that mean you have to live in the shadow of an old label.

No. Absolutely not. Never.

Now, is your time!

When I arose this morning, the day was new. 

The regrets of yesterday and suspense of the yet to be..

began to fill my mind.

And then...

I remembered yet again.

I am known by my Father as His treasure. 

"For you are a holy peopleholy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession"

Deuteronomy 7:6

All the moments that I daily regret have been washed away in His sea of love.

And I am His.

Daily I am allowing Him..to give me a new beginning...and new memories.

Application: 

(Consider this as your prayer)

Lord I am,...who I have become, because of who YOU are. 

The past does not define me.  

I'm a new creature in Christ. 

When old memories begin floating around in my mind, may the wind of your Spirit reign them in and wash them out to sea. The old labels of shame or regret have given way to hope as I daily allow you to 'name' who I am. 

Reign it in and wash it out Father..I can't do this alone.

I am yours! And You  love me enough to set right my past. 

It's over. 

Daily I will remember that the sea belongs to You.

Remember:
If you have given yourself completely to His Lordship, the old is gone. 

You are who "HE" says you are. 

You now carry His name. 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come." 

2 Corinthians 5:17