Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die

Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die

Ladies tell me you didn’t melt when Bradley Cooper stepped up to the microphone as Jackson Maine in the hit movie “A Star is Born” and serenaded us all with the Lyrics “Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die.”

With his ruggedly handsome face and the sweet sound of his fingers strumming the acoustic guitar, he leaned in with his deep voice and put a question into all of our minds. “Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die?” Thought provoking, right?

Is it time to let the old ways die? What old ways do we need to die to? Was he talking to me? Old ways and old patterns of behavior that have proven time and time again to be unsuccessful, even detrimental in our process to become the best version of ourselves, what if, we died to these old ways?

 

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

God calls us in Ephesians to take off our former way of life, the old self that is corrupted, and put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness.

Let’s make the decision today to die to one old way. Some of us need to die to a reel of negative self-talk we play over and over in our own minds. Some of us need to die to our desire to please others, some to unhealthy eating habits. Some may need to die to an old pattern of behavior that simply fails to produce the beauty we are longing for in our lives.

For me this starts with prayer–because pulling up my bootstraps and trying to die to an old, unhealthy behavior on my own hasn’t worked well for me in the past.

Second, we succeed more often when we surrender our unhealthy, old ways and replace them with new, life-giving, God-honoring habits.

Third, I invite a trusted friend to journey with me along the way. I give them a permission slip that allows them to hold me accountable in my decision.

By the way ladies, that old way won’t go down without a fight. Jackson Maine makes this sound a little too easy. You will have to wake up every day and actively decide to remain faithful to the death of your old way. If you are anything like me, you will have moments of failure and days that you fallback. A growth mindset will shift your perspective from setback, to the next opportunity to do the right thing.

Here’s the good news: We are new creations in Christ, the old has passed away, behold the new has come. Ladies “It’s time to let the old way die!”

What old habits are you trying to shake as we begin this new year? Share yours in a comment below.

I am committing to letting go of the unhealthy habit of eating unnecessary carbohydrates late in the day. This habit, strips me of energy and leaves me feeling physically and emotionally sluggish. I have a feeling this old habit is gonna put up fight. I plan to replace the habit with a cup of green tea and 15 minutes of nutrition research time.

How about you?