Renewed hope.
We really need it after this year. I feel like I have been in an emotional wringer for way too long. From one crisis to another, it just never let up. There was way too much sadness, drama, and tears this past year.
Here we are, on the threshold of another year, and do we dare give hope some light?
At the end of a year, I’m usually hopeful for new dreams, new goals for the upcoming year, but this year I find myself holding back. I’m not quite ready to let my guard down, but neither do I want to give the “what ifs” power in my life.
If I listed everything I’m hopeful for this coming year it would be a long list. So this year I’m scaling back to just a few things that I dare dream for.
What about you? Are you too exhausted to even think about what the new year could hold?
Let’s make room in our hearts for hope to grow by doing a couple of simple things to look forward to the new year.
Look back and find the blessings
With the past year, it’s easy to focus on all that went wrong. Doing that can make your heart bitter, and blind you to the blessings that were there, but maybe got overlooked.
If you made it this far to the end of the year, it’s worth celebrating! Don’t focus on all that “should have been”. That can keep you stuck and just feeling blue. Let some light breakthrough and hope for what “can be” with the new year.
Take a reflective look back and come up with a few things that you are really grateful for. I promise you, putting a voice to gratefulness, gives your faith growth and hope for what’s to come.
Big or small, it’s worth reminding yourself that your one strong woman for enduring such a hard year!
Look ahead with renewed hope
Enduring the last year, it’s easy to want to stay in a self-protective mode going forward. I’m with you on that. But living life walking on eggshells isn’t really living. If anything, it’s pretty stressful!
To get hopeful again, list a few things you would love to see happen. Don’t make a long list, keep it to what’s really on your heart. Put your voice to it, cover it with prayer, and let that little spark of hope that is barely alive, start to ignite again.
Don’t let it be a one and done. Revisit your hopes daily, pray for that one thing that will give you something to look forward to in the days ahead.
That list may grow as you step out into trust and let yourself believe again that things will be better. That’s how hope works. Give it some room to grow, and it can change your day and your life.
Something I do at the beginning of every year is to ask God for a specific word or verse that He would have me focus on for the year. This has been so life-changing for me, and I know it can be for you too. Try it and let God show you what your faith needs to flourish!
Even if you don’t feel like it, or believe that things will be better, hope has a way of pushing through the walls you have erected so you can have a breakthrough and see new possibilities.
Two simple things.
Look back and realize how strong you really are by getting through this year. Search out the blessings that were there and let your heart be grateful.
Look ahead and know that your dreams are worth pursuing. Because they are. Never give up on what God has placed in your heart for you. Spend a few quiet moments and let Him grow your seeds of hope.
With this new year let’s all stay planted, firmly rooted in Christ, in our faith, and hopeful for a blessed new year.
Until next time,
~pat
