Another year has come to pass. For some, it signifies a fresh start. New beginnings. Others have burdens that will carry over as time marches on relentlessly. We will probably all experience both throughout the course of our lives. One thing remains the same throughout – our faithful surrender makes all the difference in how we grow with each passing year.

The arrival of a new year does not always bring the hope and excitement, or even the relief, that we expect. If there is anything I have learned in this life, it’s that life is always changing, and it rarely changes in the ways that we anticipate. For the past two years, my family has been walking a path that we never expected, and with it has come much heartache, a loss of community, and confusion about where God is leading us. Last year gave us so much goodness, so many gifts and treasured memories, but in the background we have struggled to find peace and joy again.

I know that God leads, directs, and guides us. I know that He prepares a way and that we can endure our trials when we commit our way to Him. I know that times of suffering are also times of preparation. I know all of this, and yet believing those truths can be hard. 

As 2024 begins, some of us with a faith-filled perspective might be asking some tough questions. How do I live in such a way that brings meaning to my own life and blessings to the lives of others? How can I maintain peace in the face of so much chaos? How do I walk these paths in front of me purposefully and righteously?

So many seasons we will likely all endure at some point – grief, sickness, betrayal, anxiety, hardship. There is so much that is so hard. What I think we must do is commit ourselves to never allowing the hard to win. We will endure – that is no question. What we cannot do is let the hard take away the goodness and the beauty, the joy and the innocence. I will not let evil win. I will not let it take from me the steadfast commitment to doing good in this messed up world. I will raise my children to love others and teach them to navigate their storms with a moral compass. I will do my best to teach them to maintain their character and integrity even when others do not. I will not give up.

It is not always easy to believe that what God has asked of us is the best for us. We all experience seasons in which we start to question if it’s all worth it, if exercising our faith even matters. But there is reward in doing good, and most importantly, there is God in it. In this year and every year beyond that we are blessed with days on this earth, may we seek Him. May we go where He is and point others to Him. May we not grow weary or lose hope, but when we do, may we encourage one another in steadfast love.