Embracing 2024

Another year has ended and the door has closed on all that has transpired in my life over these past twelve months. As I reflect back on 2023, I can’t help thinking of those ambitious goals I set for myself that were never met, those good intentions that never saw the light of day. For sure, the infamous shoulda/coulda/woulda syndrome may raise its ugly head, point its accusing finger, but the year has ended and there is nothing more that can be done. I can’t go back in time and undo my mistakes; I can’t change anything. So, as I consider this past year and how I’ve spent my time on this earth, I have chosen to stop reflecting on those things that never got done and the mistakes I’ve made and bravely welcome the new year and all its unknown. In a poem I wrote some time ago, a verse best describes my intent:

My fears aside, a trust is found
Wings are spread, I’m ready.
The Creator leads me, safe and sound
Loving unconditionally.

Each end of a year is a new beginning. It’s full of exciting, perhaps challenging moments, and it’s a year I will embrace with the knowledge that God is my Forerunner. A word not commonly used, Charles Spurgeon describes a forerunner as “a person running before…a herald, a guide, one who precedes.” We read the word in Hebrews 6:19-20: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.” So I am embracing 2024, knowing that my Forerunner has paved the way for me because…“The LORD will perfect/accomplish/fulfill His purpose in everything that concerns me. He will supply all my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. His mercy endures for ever, and He will not forsake the works of His own hands.” * Of course there will be surprises, some exciting, some very exciting, and some not so exciting, but there will be no surprises for God. And because of that I willingly follow and trust Him as my Forerunner.

In 1938 King George VI quoted a poem by Minnie Louise Hawkins in his 1939 war time Christmas broadcast to the British Empire. I received a copy of it on this copper plaque over 50 years ago and it sits on my desk as a reminder of Who paves the way for me each year. Although it speaks to the entrance of a new year, I read it often and am reminded of the God I worship and strive to honour in my words and deeds.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

And he replied:

“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

Have a blessed, healthy, and Christ-focused 2024!

*My personal paraphrase of Psalm 138:8 and Philippians 4:19.