New Years is a one of my favorite times of the year. Maybe it’s because that’s the evening that my husband proposed 29 years ago. But really I think it’s because there is a sense of fresh promise. Granted, January 1st is really just another day but for me it feels like a chance to hit a reset button. The past year (good, bad, or ugly) is officially over. The new year is filled with hope and optimism, sort of like a new life.

I always enjoy reflecting on the past year too and have kept a journal through the years to write goals for the new year and record significant events of the past year. This past year, my typical one page list carried over to two pages…and most of it wasn’t all that great so I am happy to see this year head off into the past! However, in spite of the difficulty of the year, I had a rather profound thing happen. After several years of doing a variety of volunteer activities, I felt a nudging from the Lord to let those activities go. Initially I fought it. After all, they were good causes and uses of my time like helping with the sponsorship program for the children in Ethiopia, serving in kids ministry, and leading ladies Bible study. Why would God ask me to let go of those?

But the more I fought it, the more convicted I felt. So finally this fall, I backed out of all my volunteer activities and almost immediately, I felt a sense of relief. Then came new opportunities I could have never imagined. It was almost as if God was saying, “You know, once you let go of these things, I can give you the work I really need you to do!”

So with 2016, I am excited about new serving and writing opportunities that He has given me, including the chance to go to the Christian Writers Conference in CA, thanks to my biggest cheerleader, sister Colleen. Then quite out of the blue, I was offered a job with a non-profit that works to find solutions to the current foster care crisis in our state and country, something that I am very passionate about.

Isaiah 43:19 is perhaps the best verse for the New Year or for any new season: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Yes, Lord, I’m finally perceiving it! And if you’re making a way through this wilderness of life, then I want to be right on your heels.

I’m so grateful that we serve such a patient God, who waits for us to obey so that He can in turn, bless us with something NEW!

About the author