When I woke up this morning I was thinking, ‘Just another day!’ I was thinking about last year. I heard whispers of failure, disappointment, discouragement. Same ole, same ole! Nothing’s changed. Nothing good. Here we go again! Hopelessness. Perhaps that’s the same song looping through your head right now. Well I have news for you!

I heard the Lord say, ‘NEW!’ So I went to my Bible and looked it up, and this is what I saw: “Forget about what’s happened, don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?” Isaiah 43:19 MSG

Last Saturday,12/30/23, my husband, Walt, very unexpectedly took his last breath on this earth and transitioned into the arms of Jesus. It happened so fast that it left me shocked, heartbroken, and feeling like I was in a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

How do you forget the nightmare? You stop thinking about it. You stop dwelling on it. You begin thinking of something else to replace those thoughts. Grief is no joke. Your heart feels as if it’s melting like heated wax. But I must put the past behind and focus forward, or I’ll no longer be a help to others.

Just as so many start the new year with a fast to purify their bodies and set themselves apart to hear from God, so we must set our minds apart from rehearsing past failures and begin seeing our future through the eyes of God.

You can’t drive anywhere safely looking in the rearview mirror. Glancing is good, focusing is bad. When you’re focused behind you, you’re not looking ahead. God wants you to look ahead. He was in your past directing your steps, but He’s in your future holding your blessings.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Oh God, You are my future-holder. My hope giver. I will praise You for You alone know what those plans are. I will take Your hand as You lead me into my next season. This year will be different. I won’t focus on last year because it’s behind me. I will keep my eyes on You as You will never leave me. It’s all for Your Kingdom, glory and honor in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Happy New Year

Sandy G