I should climb on my soapbox. I should sing praises to the Lord. I should cheer myself on with promises of God's faithfulness, words of courage and hope.
I should, yes, but I can't. I simply haven't any more than sheer determination to make it past this minute and on to the next.
Oh Lord, please help me.
New Years Eve. A day to recall what has been and look forward to what will be. Tears. Laughter. Resolutions. A day to lace up your tennis shoes and prepare to run headlong into the mystery and newness of a fresh start.
To write on the first page of a new notebook. To sink your teeth into the shiny, red skin of a fresh picked apple. The first day of school. To wake up in the morning and open your eyes. To hold, for the first time, the new life that made you a mommy. To try something you've never tried before. To make a plan and set goals.
Who doesn't love a fresh start? In that moment, we feel empowered, hopeful, ready to take on the challenge of change without feeling hindered or defined by our past experiences. God's power seems very tangible.
And then...
As fallen creatures living in a fallen world, inevitably, we will fall. But this is not the end of the story. God, in His infinite wisdom, knows our frailty. He does not watch us fall and laugh at our inability to accomplish what we resolutely attempt. He comforts us in our weakness and covers us with mercy. His mercies are perfectly, wonderfully brand new every single morning of our lives. He will strengthen us and fill us with hope for the journey.
Fresh snow is falling outside. It veils the bare, drab ground with a covering of pure white. How sweet it is for God to give us a visible picture of His beautiful handiwork as we begin 2012.
"To look up and not down, that is Faith;
to look forward and not back, that is Hope;
and then to look out and not in, that is Love."
-Edward Everett Hale
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