Happy New Year!

Hi Friends!

Happy New Year!

I will be honest with you all. I was terrified to enter this new year. 2023 was a great yet challenging year for me. I accomplished many things, and God stood by my side through it all, never giving up on me. Although I had great blessings, I also had some really hard times. These were hard times that made me afraid of even entering this new year. Scared of the challenges that I may face in the future. Scared of the unknown. For the past couple of years, my family has had this tradition of going to church for the new year. Entering the New Year, praying and worshiping God to thank Him for the year we have made it through with his grace and love. I was at church scared, nervous, and extremely anxious. Avoid thinking about anything because I would just break down in tears at the thought of it. A song started to play, and I could not hold it in anymore. I took my mother's hand and, rushed to the bathroom and started to break down about how scared I was for this new year, but I shouldn't be because God has blessed me so much throughout the year, although it was a hard year for me. My mother, bless her heart, was kind and understanding and told me to have faith. We rejoined the service. God is amazing and loves us even when we feel most alone. He is there right by our side, holding us through whatever we are going through. God heard my cries, and the pastor's message was about how 2023 may have been a hard year, that we may be nervous and scared, but we need to look forward. The pastor spoke about forgetting the past and moving forward. He references Philippians 3:13: "No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." Paul spoke about how you have to look ahead and forget the past. Forgetting the past does not mean erasing the memory, but rather not focusing on the past and not letting it influence you or affect you. The pastor said not to let your focus on the past cause you to miss the blessings of the future. This message was such a blessing for me and changed my entire perspective on entering this new season of 2024. I am excited and looking forward to seeing what God has in stored throughout this new year. God is great and knows exactly what we need when we need it. I could not be more grateful to have made it to 2024, and I am looking forward to spending it with all of you. If you are anything like me and sometimes the unknown can be scary, surrender it all to God and take a leap of faith with me as we enter this great year. 2024 is going to be our year. It may not be perfect, but it will be Great!

Remember you are loved and not alone!

-C :)