Where do I even begin? You began with such promise and so many expectations, but somewhere along the way...everything changed.
One storm after another rocked our world and I found myself sinking, wondering how to pull myself out of all our mess. Fear crept in and anxiety lie waiting in the shadows. I wondered and I worried and I wept.
But still there was Hope, even in the middle of the worst storms. I questioned my One Word in the middle of so much sifting, but you showed me what Hope really means in a way I wouldn't have known without the need to cling to it with all I had left.
You stretched and challenged me even as you grieved and wrecked me. Even in the storms, there was still so much good, tiny gifts sprinkled throughout the hard days to remind me of the God who never leaves and never forgets.
You taught me to find Hope not in my ever changing and often uncontrollable circumstances, but in the God who is the same yesterday, today, and always. When I focus so much on the things I see in the here and now, I lose sight of the One who holds the key to hope fulfilled and fills me with perfect peace that surpasses understanding.
As I look forward to a new year, I want to take what you've taught me about Hope and keep pressing into the One who wants to set me free from all the fear and anxiety that still holds me far too closely. I'm going to remember the gifts you've given me in treasured moments and truths revealed and I'll continue journeying onward towards a future He has already promised is so much brighter and better.
No matter what this new year brings, I know Who holds my tomorrows and I know how to cling to Hope and never let go.
So, thank you, 2013 for all you have taught me and how you have changed me...
...but hello to 2014 and a year of new beginnings and renewed Hope.
Oh yes! This my friend. New beginnings and renewed hope. He is good. Love you! Happy New Year!
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