Sunday, January 1, 2012

Facing a New Year

I stand here at the edge of a new beginning. 12 months behind me filled with laughter and tears and 12 new months ahead of me, filled with the wonder and worry of everything new.
What will this year hold for me? Will it bring bad or good? Will it disappoint or will it change my life?
Where will I be at this time next year…..the unending questions are enough to drive anyone crazy. The worries crowd out many thoughts. If this is a new beginning, then where should I be going? Worry of disappointing those I love echo in my mind. What if this New Year is not all that I hope it to be?
I could be standing at the door of a new adventure, or standing at the door of a year just like all the others. What will it be? I suppose it will what I make it. And where God leads.
 But in this time as the start of a New Year is still fresh, this is a time to reflect on who we are, and who we wish to be. We could change that. The New Year holds the promise of a new start. Where anything is possible and for a brief few days, it feels like we can dream bigger and greater things than we ever have before. How are we going to change the world?
By the time next week rolls around, I might feel like I felt last January a week in. As if nothing has changed, as if the New Year holds nothing new, only days filled the mundane and normal. But what if I didn’t let it? What if I choose to make this a year that is unforgettable?
That question, in itself, is scary. Could it really all come down to a question I challenge myself with? If this is going to be a year where I step out of the boat and onto the water, I need Jesus to be guiding me.
In a way, I need this year to be different. I need this year to be an adventure. I can’t let myself live anymore in the mundane. But which door is the right one to take? Will this New Year show me?
So as I stand here, I pray. I pray it will be different. I pray for that door. And I face 2012 with hope, apprehension and excitement.
What is this new year going to hold for you?