That is the hope, right? We all want the next year to be a good one, full of health, happiness, love and great things. We tell each other “Happy New Year,” almost with the determination of a blessing, hoping that if we say it with enough enthusiasm it will come true.
The reality, as we know if we have lived very long on this planet at all, is that this year will have ups and downs just like other years have. We can make goals and plans and resolutions, which are all good. However, we know that life can interrupt and change these as we go. The longer I live, the more I am trying to let go of carving my plans in granite. I would like to be able to be a little more relaxed when the unexpected happens and I have to change course. As a problem arises, sometimes like a big wave in front of me, I would like the ability to go with the flow. In fact, I could even say that my goal for this year is to learn how to surf!
The ocean has actually always scared me. Thinking about all the things under the surface that might want to eat me and thinking about floundering around in that vast expanse of water has always kept me on the shore. However, surfers overcome those fears by learning how to stay on top and move with the water.
Life can be the same way. I can allow my fears of what might be lurking just out of sight keep me floundering day to day, or I can trust in my mighty God to take care of it like He promises in the Bible that He will, and I can learn to ride the waves. One of the craziest things about surfers is the bigger the waves, the happier they are. Could you and I really get to a place in life where we laugh with joy as the problems get bigger because we KNOW that our God is going to overcome them? Could this be the year that we surf through life with confidence that with God all things are possible? Now that is the kind of new year I could heartily wish us all.
“With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
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