Stepping Into a New Year

“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Jeremiah 29:11

As 2019 draws to a close, so does the decade. And with that comes a lot of reflection. Every year, God seems to be sending out a different message to me, and I’m sure others can relate to this.

In 2019, a lot happened in my life. I would even say it was one of the most eventful years of my life. With that comes a lot of new relationships, grief, surprises, fear, excitement, and regret. I have said goodbye to many this year, and I’m sure that a lot of you have had to do the same. I know that as I get older, I will have this happen more and more, but it doesn’t make it any less difficult to have to watch loved ones grieve or be the one grieving yourself. This year has been hard as I have watched many that I care about make decisions that I know will hurt them later on, yet I am not in control of anyone’s life. All I know is that through all of these changes, good and bad memories, God still was trying to teach me something this year. He has also blessed me in numerous ways throughout the year, such as helping me discover my love of public speaking, giving me new people to care about, and giving me the inspiration to start this blog, just to name a few.

God’s Message to Me This Year

I will be the first to say that everyone is on a different journey, and we all are being told different things at different stages of life. But for me, I think that God’s message to me this year that I want you to think about as well is to continue to have hope and know that if I am patient, I will be less discouraged. God will never fail, and He will never stop caring.

What I want to Leave You with in the New Year

For any of you who dealt with loss, heartache, discouragement, or for those of you who had victory, excitement, and joy this year, I want to leave you all with one thing as you step into the new year.

No matter what’s to come, no matter what has happened in the past, you will never be worth any less or have failed the One that cares the most about you.

There are always going to be people who get in your way; who discourage you and tell you that you’ll never be worthy. There are also always going to be people in your life that love you like there is no one else in the world, who will always want to help you, and who are willing to listen to you. Sometimes, it takes seeking out these people, but they will always be there. If you reach out in your time of need, you are much more likely to experience God’s love shown through others.

My word to you this year is hope. Have hope that things will get better, have hope that you are the person you were meant to be and you are still growing, have hope that there is more to come than what you can see right now, have hope that you have been created for a reason. But most of all, have hope that God will fulfill His promises in your life no matter how bleak things look right now. Most of all, don’t get discouraged if this appear to not be going the way you plan. Oftentimes, you will end up grateful that they went the way God wanted them to.

With that said, have a very blessed new year, and I look forward to when we can catch up again!

“Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.”

~Esther 4:14