Hello. My name is Tiffany Cutcliff and I blog at The Dwelling Tree. I write about life and family. I'd love to have you stop by and send a greeting.
I am so thankful to Danette for having me! I have been a follower of her for a while now and am amazed at her creativity, vision, and ability to bring other bloggers into the spotlight. She is very generous!
In keeping with the theme of gratitude, I am delighted to write a post about this subject.
Isn't it amazing how fast our lives become complicated and heavy? Even if we have a roof over our head and food on the table, we have other things to worry about as well. Broken relationships, failure, and loneliness can plague our hearts. I have often made the same mistake over and over, or have regretted something I have done and wish I could turn back time.
"...as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12
Forgiven. A new start. I am free.
This year, I am thankful for new beginnings.
I have a past. My past contains many regrets I have and a trail of broken relationships, both romantically and non-romantically. To be painfully honest, I experienced a failed marriage in my early twenties. I truly believed in "till death do we part", but that didn't mean that I was exempt from experiencing a failed marriage. I thought I would never get my life back, and I hit an all time low. I viewed the world from rose-colored glasses and thought that giving my life to Christ prior to marriage meant having a joyful and blessed life. Divorce did not fit into that picture.
I was about to find out that as a child of God I am not going to always have an easy life. Something I was going to learn was that God was the author of my life, that he walks with me through my heartache and pain, and that he could even turn my pain into a beautiful story. He is the God of New Beginnings, and he was going to give me my very own.
See, my story went on. I found friends who loved me in my struggle, I found that God was with me every step of the way, and I eventually found love again. God redeemed my life and I enjoy a husband that is my best friend and I have a beautiful baby girl named Lillian. See, that isn't my new beginning though. I value my baby and husband more than I could express in words, but what God really wanted me to see was my New Beginning with Him! Jesus used my husband to build trust again, and my baby to show me what unconditional love is (as much as I even think I can understand)- all in an attempt to show me what He really did when He died on the cross. Jesus pardoned my sins as far as the east is from the west, and He gave me a new start. He promised me that he would renew my soul. He can fix broken relationships, failure, and loneliness. His promise of my New Beginning and the fact that he cleanses makes me more grateful than I could have ever imagined.
What New Beginnings have you experienced this past year? Where has God renewed your life?
May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4
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