He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Revelation 21:5a NIV

Forty years is a long time. Let’s think about it: 40 years is how long the Israelites wandered through the desert.  Well, the 40 years that I’m referring to is actually 40 years of celebrating God’s faithfulness.

But to do this, I have to go back. Back to 1976 when my mom and dad divorced.  I can’t remember the exact date, because I was only five, but I distinctly remember the day it happened. I remember crying myself to sleep thinking, “Divorce? How could this be?” I couldn’t believe it because my life had seemed great! As the tears flowed, my heart shattered, and my whole world changed forever.

Fast forward to the fall of 1977. There I was giggling and squealing, running around on a small playground. My Dad had taken my little sister and me on a “playdate” to meet a woman he’d been seeing for about two months, a woman, “God had brought to him.” Mostly, I was just excited to climb and swing, but this day was different, because not only was I meeting her, but also two new playmates, her daughters.

Fast forward a few more months to February 1978. I’m standing in the dining room of an unfamiliar but inviting house, dressed in a sweet, Easter-like, dress, adorned with a yellow sash. I’m accompanied by three other little girls dressed exactly the same. The day prior, my father had married the lady from the playground, and now I had a new step-mom and two new step-sisters! That day, we joined hands in a circle, we read Scripture and prayed, and forever from that day forward, we memorialized a new day on our calendar, “Sister Day.”  In a precious, “God-made” ceremony, my newly married parents spoke blessings over us, laid flower wreaths on our heads, like crowns, and together we praised God. God had created something new.

That was 40 years ago. It’s a day I will never forget and my family has always celebrated from that point forward.  It’s always reminded me that our great God, our good, Heavenly Father, is truly the Author of all things new. He’s the Inventor of families, the Healer of broken hearts, the God who sees our pain.  No matter what DNA flowed through my veins prior to, it didn’t matter: God’s DNA knit this new family together, and He knit me back together. And although the eldest sister, the one who always was the first to text and call, reminding us all of Sister Day -  recently flew home to Jesus, we can still hear her wishing us, even this our 40th anniversary, “Happy Sister Day!”

And I know without fail, despite her loss, that God still and will always “see”, He will always heal, and He will always keep his promise to make all things new.

If you have brokenness in your family, or in your relationships, have you seen or caught glimpses of Him at work, despite the pain? Is there a way you can memorialize a triumph, such as “Sister Day” so that you’ll always remember His faithfulness?  Or, are you searching for the hope you need to catch a vision of something new?

Heavenly Father, You promise to make all things new.  We pray Your redemptive process be at work today. Please restore, heal, and revive, so that we may proclaim your goodness and memorialize Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.