It’s A New Year

“Celebrating 25 years of marriage, my oldest graduating from high school….who knows what else 2011 will bring my way!!! Actually, there is One who knows what 2011 has in store for me and that is such a comforting thought!!! Happy New Year everybody!!”

This was the post I made on facebook New Years Day in 2011. Obviously on that first day of the year, I had no idea that 2011 would also bring with it a diagnosis of melanoma for my husband. Nor could I have known on the following New Years Day that 2012 would bring a recurrence of cancer in his body. And I NEVER imagined on New Years Day 2013, that this would be the year that I would have to say goodbye to the love of my life.

And now, here we are….the second day of 2016. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that I still have no idea what this new year will bring. Heck, I don’t even know what tomorrow will bring! But the one thing that has not changed from my original post from 2011 is the fact that God knows what this year will bring….even what tomorrow will bring.

As I think about the New Year, I have mixed emotions. I still have feelings of sadness about beginning yet another year without Greg. My heart still aches for all that will never be. I still get lonely thinking about a future without him. But, for the first time since Greg’s death, I feel the tiniest bit of excitement and expectation for the new year. I would not even try to guess at what the Lord has planned for me in 2016, but I can say with confidence that I trust that whatever He has planned is for my good and His glory.

This time last year, I could not even think about making resolutions or setting goals for the New Year. I was doing good to get up and make it through each day, so that I could go back to bed and get up and do it all over again. This year I have set some goals. I think it’s good to have something to work towards; something to focus on. They are simple goals….you probably have some similar goals yourself. But my main focus for the year will not be my goals. Instead, I have three things that I feel the Lord has shown me over the past couple of weeks that He wants me to have as my main focus for 2016. One is a scripture verse, one is a prayer and one is a song. These are the things that I want my life to be about and to reflect this year.

The scripture is 1 Peter 5:10 which says: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” I take great comfort in knowing that Jesus HIMSELF will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish me! I am ready for some of that!!

The prayer is one I came across in a devotional. “Father, make me more like Jesus. Help me to bear difficulty, pain, disappointment and sorrow, knowing that in your perfect working and design you can use such bitter experiences to shape my character and make me more like our Lord. I look with hope for that day when I shall be wholly like Christ, because I shall see him as he is. Amen.”

The song is one that I first heard recently and just resonates the cry of my heart. I pray you will be blessed as you listen to the beautiful, yet hard words. Sometimes it is so very hard to trust, but He has proven Himself to be faithful and good no matter our circumstances.

My prayer for each of you this year is that you grow deeper in your relationship with Christ, as you realize more and more how much He truly loves you! Happy New Year!

Trusting His Plan,
Sandra