Hope for a New Year

    I don't know about the rest of you, but the past few years have been a struggle. Like, I wasn't on the struggle bus, I WAS the struggle bus, as my child likes to say. If  it wasn't one thing, then it was another. Not always necessarily bad things, but hard things nonetheless. And I got so worn out. Both emotionally and physically. There were days that I got through on faith and coffee alone. Because I didn't have anything left inside of me to give. 

    Now, don't misunderstand. There were parts of the year that were wonderful and fun and full of laughter and joy. But when the hard days outweigh the good ones, it is easy to get bogged down by the hard, the struggle. When you've lived in survival mode for a long time, you don't even realize you are doing it. And I have been living in survival mode for far too long now. 

    Which is why I am so excited for this new year. The Lord has promised me that this year is the year of Hope.  And everywhere I turn, I keep hearing or seeing hope mentioned. I'm sure it's always been there, but I've been so focused on surviving that I haven't noticed. It is hard to live with hope in your heart when you are focusing on surviving. It doesn't leave a whole lot of room for hope. I wanted hope. I needed hope. But it felt like it was just outside of my grasp. So I focused on getting through my days, one day at a time. Trusting Jesus that at some point, it would get better. It had to, right? 

    Don't believe, though, that I think my life is going to be all sunshine and rainbows now because I have hope. I am under no delusions about the fact that life is still going to have hard things. But I've been doing some research into the various facets of hope. There are so many layers and complexities to this emotion. For it is an emotion, but it isn't a fleeting one that comes and goes. And it is more than just a simple emotion. It is an extension of faith, because our hope is rooted in our belief of who God is, and who we are to Him. My walk of faith can be, and should be, expectant and hopeful. 

    

    So when I am starting to feel burdened down again, I will raise my hands and sing "Hallelujah", because my hope is in my Maker and Healer. For, as the Psalmist says, "He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved." (Psalm 62:6 NKJV) And that gives me hope. 

In His Love and Hope,

Christy