To the Editor,
New year, new you? New year, same you? New year?
It’s the 61st month of the 2020s.
Everyone probably sees the new year differently.
Maybe last year was a struggle to get through and you couldn’t wait to get 2024 over with.
Maybe it was a great year and you’re sad to see it go.
However we choose to see the turning of the calendar into a new year, there is one thing that is certain: a new year provides us an opportunity to start fresh.
A chance to move on from the things we didn’t like about last year and a chance to grow from the things we did.
At this point last year, we all made ourselves promises and set goals for what 2024 was going to hold for us.
If you’re like me, you stuck to some of those promises and achieved those goals while simultaneously ditching other promises and goals for one reason or another.
And, if you’re like me, you’ve set new goals and made new promises for what 2025 will hold.
Maybe it’s the second or third year in a row that you’ve set the same goal and you’re determined that this year will be different and you will finally make it happen.
It’s human nature to fail. It’s human nature to get down and allow ourselves to justify not doing the things we want to do.
Life is hard and we are constantly faced with new trials and challenges that we don’t think we can handle.
Sometimes these challenges can seem so overwhelming and daunting that you see no possible way to succeed and overcome.
What isn’t human nature is refusing to give up.
Refusing to let our failures keep us from pushing forward and striving to achieve our goals regardless of the obstacles.
I’m reminded of what I constantly tell my kids when they say something is hard or are on the verge of giving up, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.”
The truth is that if life was so easy that we could just do anything we wanted to do and accomplish every goal with ease, we would feel like we had all the answers and wouldn’t need
anyone else.
If we rolled through life without any struggles or strife we would forget who we really need to achieve success in this life, Jesus Christ.
Throughout the Bible God gives us ample examples of why we need Him and how He’s there for us.
In Jeremiah 29:11 God tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” and in Philippians 4:13, a verse every Christian probably memorizes at a young age, we are reminded that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Regardless of where we are in life, the highest high or the lowest low, we can be certain of two very important things:
God has a plan for each and every one of us and that by putting our trust in Him, we can achieve success in this life. Success doesn’t mean having all the money in the world but rather, leading a life worth living.
A life that enriches those around you and provides an example of the goodness of God. So, that is the challenge for all of us this year.
Will we stick to our old plan of trying to navigate this life on our own or will we renew our faith and trust in God and be the light that He calls us to be?
My goal for this year is the latter. My hope for this year is that others will see the love of Jesus through me and see the confidence to face this life head on that only He can provide.
My hope is that others will strive towards this with me and that someday we will be able to look back at 2025 and see it as an inflection point in our lives that created the foundation of our future.
Happy New Year, friends! May this be the best year yet!
Dallas Slay
Tioga, Texas
Source: Freepik.com