The Story
As an attorney, I have a shelf full of books that are technically "useless." The law has changed. Provisions I once memorized have been repealed. The rules that governed my practice thirty years ago have been superseded by new acts, new circulars, and new precedents.
There is a certain humility in realizing that something you worked so hard to master is now irrelevant. You can’t walk into a courtroom today and cite an old provision that no longer exists—the judge will simply say, "That is no longer the law, Counsel." It’s a reminder that the world is always in flux. If we anchor our worth to the "current rules" of man, we will eventually find ourselves obsolete.
The Counsel
Life at 65 feels a lot like a major legislative overhaul. I’m looking at the "old provisions" of my life—the old worries, the old ways I thought I had to earn God’s favor, and the old "laws" I made for myself about what a successful woman should look like.
I’ve realized those provisions don't work anymore. They’ve been superseded by a Higher Law.
In Hebrews 8:13, we are told about a New Covenant that makes the old one obsolete. I find so much peace in that legal concept. God doesn't expect me to live by the "Old Provisions" of my own effort or my past mistakes. He has introduced a New Law: the Law of the Spirit of Life.
The Letting Go
I’m letting go of these old books today because they no longer reflect the reality of the world I practice in. And spiritually, I’m doing the same. I’m letting go of the "outdated provisions" of my past—the guilt, the rigidness, and the need to be "The Authority."
Things have changed. I have changed. And thank God, His Grace is the only provision that never becomes irrelevant.
The Grace Note: Are you still trying to live your life by "old provisions" that God has already repealed? Stop trying to follow a version of yourself that no longer exists. Accept the new "rules" of Grace.
