01/05/2022 Principal's Note

People love new things, don't they? New cars, new toys, new babies, new seasons of their favorite Netflix shows...the list could go on. Driving home from church this past weekend, I saw we have a new Mexican restaurant in New London, and I got excited! Why do we enjoy new things so much? Perhaps because we feel that NEW must be BETTER, and this time, it will be everything I imagined it could be! New is romanticized and idealized. How could something new NOT be great?

Unfortunately, as King Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9, NIV 2011). New things are only new for a little while, and then the tarnish of our sinful reality sets in. That new car? Something will break down and cost you money. Those new toys? They will either break or cause strife in your family (or be forgotten entirely in a few days). The new season of your favorite show? It won't live up to the hype (or it will, but then it's over in a day after you binge-watch it). Even that new baby? Just try to keep that excitement when she learns the word "NO!" or he throws your cellphone in the toilet. Because of sin, the joy of "new" does not last.

As we begin a new year, we need to temper our expectations. The world has been hurting over the past two years, and our lives have changed in an unenjoyable manner. For two years now we have closed the book on the old year and looked forward to the new, hoping we can get past our struggles and back to "normal." But you know what? This IS normal for our world. Pain, loss, regret, hatred, sadness, bitterness, division...it's all normal because of sin. 2022, just as Solomon reminded us, will bring "nothing new under the sun."

Before you spiral into despair and completely give up hope for the next twelve months, remember that there is a "newness" that lasts. God makes us new when he brings us into his family of believers. The joy we have at being a child of God will never fade or wear out. You want something to look forward to? Look at what God tells us in Revelation: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 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." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new" (Revelation 21:1-5, NIV 2011)!

Keep your eyes fixed on God's promises, your mind dwelling in his Word, and your heart overflowing his love from you into others around you, and no matter what happens in 2022, you will experience joy!

God bless you and your families.

In Christ,

Principal Bill Fuerstenau