There is something about a new year dawning on the calendar that causes us to reflect on the past and begin to plan for the future. As we assess the emotional and physical damage caused by trials and choices, we decide to lay down those things that have been harmful and reach for things that will bring healing. Despite failures and heartbreak we have experienced, the prospect of future success and hope strikes a spark of determination in our hearts.
We all line up at the starting line of a new year with either a carefully drawn out plan (if you are like me) or a wing and a prayer. Either way, we race toward our dreams at the stroke of midnight with the sound of celebration ringing in our ears and fireworks lighting the sky.
Somewhere along the way, however, we will encounter something that was not in our plan – some storm of life that will sidetrack us from our dreams for days…or weeks…or months. I guarantee it will happen. In 2018 I found myself struggling to stand in storms that included health concerns for my first granddaughter before she was born, the stress of trying to find a job, my husband’s decline in health, and the death of my father and two of his sisters. How do we get back on track after such difficult times?
It is much easier to coast than pedal uphill, but it is impossible to reach the top of the hill by coasting. Recognize coasting as an enemy to be resisted at all costs, but do not confuse it with rest. Rest is different. Pausing to rest is necessary to regain strength, and ignoring the need for rest will weaken you in ways you may not realize until much further down the road. Rest. Rejuvenate. Be restored. But do your best to maintain sight of where you were headed before the storm hit.
I lost my way for a while in 2018. I could not see where to put one foot in front of the other to continue my journey. I began to believe the things I hoped for were impossible pipe dreams that could never be realized. When our focus turns to what must be overcome for a dream to materialize, instead of setting our sight of faith on the dream itself, darkness creeps in through every crevice of our hearts and minds.
On one of my darker days I went outside to sit on the screened porch and had a “come to Jesus meeting” with myself. There is something refreshing about the outdoors to me; God feels closer somehow. As I began to breathe in the fresh air of hope, I began to exhale doubt and discouragement. With a notebook and pen in hand I wrote again the dreams of my heart. Seeing a vision written on paper somehow gives it confirmation and clarity. The steps begin to take shape, and the impossible becomes possible again. Do not miss this vital step of progress.
As I write this, the date is December 31st, and a new year is dawning. I have more determination to fulfill my calling now than I have known in quite some time. I believe the Author of my dreams is also the Finisher who will welcome me when my race is run, so I press on. I do not walk blindly into the new year believing every step will be as wonderful as I have planned. Rather, I understand the profound wisdom I heard someone dear express recently. “I know that whatever may come, God will be there to walk through it with us.”
That, my friend, is the only promise we need to keep moving forward in hope.
