Goodbye Hello
Goodbye to a year of complexities.
Tension between elation and grief,
Time spent walking a tight-rope
Between anchored hope and disbelief.
Goodbye to a year of wild unknowns.
Wondering what each corner brought,
Storylines written much differently
Than this author would have thought.
Goodbye to a year of in-betweens.
Maneuvers mastered in the waltz,
Dancing through the ups and downs
Of jubilant adulation and open assaults.
Goodbye to a year of deep questions.
Pensive reflections, reverberating protests
Of breathless whys, disappointing hows,
And empty answers without much progress.
Goodbye to a year of juxtaposition.
A chorus of contradicting realities,
Songs of both lament and laughter,
Sad dirges blended with splendid melodies.
Goodbye to a year of unique challenges.
Unfamiliar tests, assignments new,
Lessons unwelcomed in life’s classroom
Far from mastered or carried through.
Goodbye to one year and hello to another.
Hello to similar unknowns.
Hello to future fears.
Hello to confusing challenges.
Hello to “come what may.”
Hello to “even if.”
What remains in every given year
Is the fact that we are never forgotten.
Betrayed by others, betrayed by self
But never betrayed by the Son, begotten.
He is never blind to our turmoil
Or turned off by our messy pain.
Present in every breathe, in and out,
Through every battle, He does remain.
So, hello to this new year.
Hello to another year of grace.
Hello to a Comforter, steadfast,
Hello to our perfect resting place.
Hello to steps forward in faith,
And trust that holds despite the story,
Hello to releasing the insecurities
To the Manager of all perfect inventory.
This new year holds a buffet of unknowns, true,
But every day offers a menu with a new view:
God’s grace is new every morning and it is His gift
Through the grime and glory and every life shift.
Reach out and embrace not the year, but the Lord.
Say goodbye to the hard things and be restored.
God chooses to live each moment with you,
Anchor to the hope of Christ; He will see you through.
Happy New Year my friends.
It is important to say healthy goodbyes to hard things and to properly grieve the losses and disappointments of the past year. It is necessary to name the pain and permit yourself time to question and lament. Yet, in the same space, we must also recognize that we are not betrayed or forgotten by our Lord. He is present in our times of need and He weeps with us in our pain. He also pulls us up, pushes us forward, and presses us toward forgiveness and healing.
So, get up my friend. Take your bruised hope and fractured heart and release it to the Only Way through. Walk into this year, despite the chains and tears of 2022, with a heart anchored to the God who has every good thing at His fingertips. Embrace Him, not the new year. This year is not “yours” - it is His and He wants to use all things, including the “even-ifs” to grow you, move you, change you, and restore you.
So, come Lord Jesus into my 2023. Into our 2023. We say goodbye to the heartaches of the past by laying them at Your feet and we say hello to new opportunities for grace and restored belief. Help us to embrace You above the seen circumstances and the unseen unknowns. May our 2023 vision be anchored in You alone. Amen.
Until next time friend,
I invite you to grab a cup of coffee, tea, or chai and sit with me. If you haven’t yet purchased God’s Big Ask, you can do so here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGKHY7KM
