Ending & Beginning

 

As this year closes and another begins, I am aware of the significance of how I choose to view both years. There is great tension within me as I consider the things that remain unresolved and unfinished in 2024. There are several unknowns that continue on from this year into the next. There are hopes and dreams that began in this year that is ending, which will be carried on into the coming year. There are possibilities; some joyful and others offering a sense of dread. As I reflect on the closing of this year, I feel challenged to be healthy in how I both look back and forward.

I want to end and begin with hope!

I am profoundly aware that how I choose to view this past year directly impacts the way I will view and feel about the coming year.

I see and hear people celebrate the end of a year as if the turning of the calendar page seals up the past forever. “Over and Done!” The new year is celebrated as a fresh start, untarnished, a new beginning.

Is it? Is it truly fresh and new? Unimpacted by the past?

I don’t think so. All the difficulties of the past year flow right into the new one. The questions remain, the unanswered prayers alongside the grief and loss. Just as the strength and gains of this past year are carried into the coming year.

As I consider 2024 and all that it contained for me, I want to celebrate the good and grieve the difficult. I want to acknowledge the challenges and disappointments along with the questions and things that remain unsettled. I don’t want to have an attitude that in anyway dismisses or diminishes the difficulties, sorrows or challenges. I want to keep pressing for resolution, for increased understanding and growth.

I think there is a hunger and fascination within us as humans for a fresh, new start. I believe that this is normal and healthy. I find that it can motivate us in healthy ways, or can promote an unhealthy perspective.

The turning of the calendar from one year to the next is not actually any different than any other transition. Whatever is unresolved or unknown impacts the next events and relationships within the next year. Where there is conflict or sorrow, it continues to be played out and influences other aspects of life. The new year is a continuation of the old. As I consider the influence of that continuation, I want to use it for good.

As I look at the difficulties of this past year – these are my declarations:

·       I did the best I could. I am still learning, growing and becoming. I believe that the hardships of this past year have increased my resolve and strength. I carry that into this new year.

·       The places I have grieved in this past year will continue to heal and be comforted in the coming year. I will not grieve them forever.

·       The unanswered prayers for healing from this year are not a prediction for the coming year. There is no expiration date on God’s promises, my prayers or my hope.

·       I will continue to persevere in hope. I believe I will see the goodness and answer of God

·       I will look for redemption and restoration in the coming year in the very places where there was conflict, disappointment, loss and injustice this year.

As I look at the successes and joys of this past year – these are my declarations:

·       God is good and His faithfulness endures forever. My faith is increasing and there is no end to the extent that it can and will increase.

·       The growth and reward of this past year increases the foundation on which I stand as I face the new challenges and unknowns of this coming year. I am well equipped! 

The image in my mind is one of seeds and plants growing in rich soil. The soil of a garden as well as a forest, is a mixture of many things; organic matter, sand, clay, rocks, mineral matter. Much of the organic matter is made up of plants that have died and now provide nutrients for the seeds and living plants. There are older and new components to soil and all of them contribute nutrients and life. Soil holds air and water, both vital for life. The soil is the environment in which the seed sprouts and the plant grows.

The soil of our life includes all that we’ve experienced; the good, the bad and the ugly! The joys and successes along with the struggles, loss and failings. There is life and death present at the same time. I believe that ALL of it contributes to the health and promise of future growth. I don’t want to try to forget or dismiss the difficulties, not simply because it isn’t actually possible, but also because I want to benefit from the good that was gained from enduring those hardships. I have found that having an “over and done” attitude towards the past increases passivity and discouragement. In the process of trying to limit the negative impact of the past on our current season or future, I find that we also limit any positive impact! The challenges that I’ve faced and the things I’ve learned when I’ve “failed” contribute something just as much as the places of overcoming and joy.

I am determined to view both the closing of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 through the lens of hope. 

·       Perhaps the questions left unanswered this past year will be answered and resolved this year.

·       Just because my prayers for specific healing in my loved ones went unanswered this past year does not mean the same will be the case in the new year. I will persevere in prayer!

·       This may be the year that brings the restoration of longstanding conflict within my extended family.

·       I believe there will be resolution and redemption for the grief and sorrow of this past year. I will cling to hope!

·       I will look with expectation to the future believing that there is good coming my way and that some of that good will increasingly bring meaning to some of the adversity I have endured.

I believe the best is yet to come!