NEW HOPE

December 31st, stroke of midnight, Happy New Year!!!

I think that means many different things to many people. For many it means the beginning of their "New Year's Resolution". The old year is behind them and the hopes of a bigger and better year lies ahead of them. We tend to look at our lives in terms of years. I think seasons is a better term.

We have moments of New Hope; the Spring rains wash away the darkness and gloom. We can shed the heaviness of our burdens like a heavy winter jacket.
We, then, enter into the Summer of our lives. Things are going well. Our spirits are up, the sun is shinning, the air is fragrant and sweet. Yes, sometimes there are some storms, but it is summer; the sun will shine again and the hours of light is long. Be careful, though, because before you know it, you have gotten so focused on the "fun and sun" of summer that you forget about that New Hope. Something causes a little gloom to set in. The darker, cloudy days of Fall settle in. The heavy layers of our burdens begin to return. We forget to enjoy the fragrance and beauty of life. If we could just stay focused we could see that the beauty and joy is still there, it is just changing. Before you know it, Winter hits, and for some it hits hard. We totally lose site of the sparking beauty that surrounds us. Hope seems lost. It seems that the winter will never end, but it does. The Spring of New Hope is always there.

Jesus is my Spring of New Hope. He is always there, patiently waiting for my return. Because I have Jesus in my life, I don't have to wait for a new year to have New Hope, just a new Season. With Jesus, every second of every day is a chance for New Hope to spring up. It is up to me how long a season lasts. I don't have to count the days on a calendar and wait it out. I just have to choose to run into the arms of Hope, which is Jesus. He will help me understand and learn from the storms of my life. He will take my burdens away and replace them with Peace and Joy. As long as I keep my focus on Him, the joys of Summer will last longer and the storms will be easier to face. I can choose to skip the gloom of winter, and rejoice that the New Hope of Spring, which is Jesus, is always there.

It is my prayer that this year you will choose to focus on the Hope that can only be found in Jesus, and not on the calendar and the earthy things that you want to change. Let Jesus change you.

In this season of my life, God has been teaching me my need to completely submit to His will for my life. There is so much that He is trying to bless my life with, and I am missing out because there are parts of my life that I am trying to hold on to and control that I need to let go of and give to God.