We don’t get to do things for the first time all the time. As we age, there are less and less chances to do something for the very first time.

I’ve now gone indoor skydiving (see Instagram), I’ve been baptized, I’ve tried sushi. I have gone on a friend-cation to Mexico, I’ve had a Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit, I’ve seen a concert at Red Rocks. I have kissed a boy, ridden a horse, lived on the east and west coast, and seen a sunset in Nicaragua, Hawaii, and Canada. I’ve been a bridesmaid, graduated from grad school, skied down a mountain. I’ll never do any of those things for the first time ever again.

But I am about to experience a whole lot of firsts. First 12 (or 14) hour flight, first time to Dubai and Africa, first time taking 14 college students out of the country. First time being out of the country for three weeks. And who knows all the other firsts we are about to experience?

One of my favorite things about God is that He is always making things new. He is the God of firsts – and seconds, thirds, and lasts. He has been around forever; nothing is unknown to Him. He goes before us each and every day – to our jobs, our families, our travels around the world.

He is a God who loves to surprise. To bring us into newness. Every morning we get to wake up and do something for the very first time. We have never lived this day before. We have never had Friday, May 19th, 2017 – and we never will again. We have never been who we are today, before. 

He is always making us new. We see it in every spring – the newness. The hope of new life. The first blossom of a flower, green leaves on the trees. The birds returning, the sun shining, the blue skies smiling. All new.

May we see today and appreciate it for all its newness. May it be known for its uniqueness. It is like no other day before, and we only get it once. Even if you are returning to the same job, making the same meal, caring for the same kids – it is a new day. A new chance. A new you.

We tend to only celebrate newness on January 1st – but we are just as new today, in the middle of May, as we ever are.

Embrace the firsts, the new, the chances that come and go. May we love well and hard. May we see fully the people placed before us – both new and familiar. May we live this day in its fullness – knowing we will never have it again.

May you, even in the midst of indecision, see the beauty of choices.

May you, even in the midst of heartbreak, see the glimmer of hope coming.

May you, even in the midst of change, see the invitation to newness.

May you, even in the midst of fear, see the opportunity for courage.

May you, even in the midst of monotony, see the gift of the ordinary.

May you, even in the midst of deep wounds, see the redemption that Jesus brings.

I am more convinced than ever that we already are the things we want to be: free, forgiven, loved, equipped, rooted, known, significant. We just have to choose to live it. Today is the only today you’ll ever get – live it well.