In the movie, The Sound of Music, the iconic Julie Andrews sang Rodgers and Hammerstein’s famous song Do Re Me. My favorite line of that song goes like this… “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…” I like this line so very much because as a coach and pastor, I see a common theme for those who are trying to figure life out. Many do so by focusing on where they are in contrast to where they want to be. The tension that brings them to me is that they don’t know how to move forward. In my office, people will say, “I am broke; I wish I had more money. I am lonely; I wish I had a spouse. I am frustrated; I deserve more respect. I am hurting; I wish I didn’t have so much drama in my life. I am tired; I wish I could rest more. I am out of work; I wish I could find a great job.” They know where they don’t want to be and have an inkling of where they do want to be, but don’t know how to move forward.


If you can relate, or have been there, then you might recognize that that in order to fix your life, sometimes you just need to move forward from where we are today. There’s an old saying that goes, “just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get moving.” This is a great strategy for some. After all, if you don’t recognize where you are, it’s hard to move forward. For example, if you are sitting on the couch every night eating ice cream and you don’t like how you feel in your body, well a simple approach might be to reduce your ice cream movie watching binges to only once per week.

Easy, right? Well, not always. Because sometimes, the roots of our life issues run deep. Our habits are well practiced and our stuck place feels like quicksand. The harder you try to get out, the more stuck you become. Occasionally, this happens because our issue was formed by a time in our life where we experienced pain, confusion or even deception. We are frozen in our thought processes which keep us rounding the same mountain over and over. From personal experience, I can honestly say that it’s a frustrating process.


What I have learned as a coach, and from my own stuck seasons is that for many, in order to truly move forward in life, we often have to return to the beginning. We have to figure out the root of our issues. Counselors are


amazingly good at helping people with this. They train for years to help people discover the source of their unhappiness. I am so grateful for those who work in this capacity. Let me tell you straight up, once upon a time, my issues had issues. But do you know who else is really great at helping people? God. That’s right, God. He has an amazing way of helping people discover not only what is, but what could be.


In fact, the very first words in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, were these… “In the beginning.” It continues (verse 1-2), “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” I love these verses so much because they remind me that God is not afraid of the empty, formless, dark issues that I face in life from time to time. He doesn’t want distance from us during these moments, seasons or years. Through His Spirit, He wants to help us do something about our stuck places. He wants to reveal to us how we got to where we are and then set us free. He is a creative God. He speaks and things change. Sometimes our circumstances don’t change right away but we do. The way we think does. When God speaks, things change. In fact, in the beginning, (Genesis 1:3), God said, “Let there light and there was light.” He said it several times about several things. He also said this in verse 26a, “The God said, Let us make mankind in our likeness, so that they may rule.”

Friends, from the beginning of time, you and I were created to rule and reign under the authority of God himself. We weren’t created to be broke, lonely, angry, or jobless, just to name a few of life’s issues. We were created to walk with God in relationship and to experience all that He has for us. If today, as you read this, you find that the place that you are in isn’t the place where you want to be, then take a moment and return to the one who is the master at creating new beginnings. God was there at the beginning of time. He’s created new beginnings in my life dozens of times. If you are in a season where life isn’t all that you hoped it would be, then perhaps a new beginning is in store for you too.


Making It Real:


Here’s a little challenge from me to you. Read Genesis Chapter 1 and think through these questions.


1. How did God create the world?


2. In whose image was mankind created?


3. Based upon your answers to the two questions about, how can you begin to re-create your world?


I believe in Him and You!


– Tina