Dreading New Year's Night!

Happy New Year!! If you are excited about today and the New year this post is not for you! lol If you see today as just another day and see no point of celebrating another new year and is dreading celebrating tonight with others, this post is for you!!!

To say 2023 was a roller-coaster ride is an understatement! Let's do a quick overview. 2023 started with death for me. The first 11 days of Jan I cared for my dying father and planning his funeral. I dealt with daily pain because of scar tissue I developed after abdominal surgery. The surgery that was supposed to stop repeated kidney/bladder infections because of a birth defect failed to stop the infections. So I was in and out of the hospital the entire year! Multiple ongoing tests, procedures and doctor visits. The picture below is from one of my doctor visits. I had some terrifying events occur with a loved one which required my ultimate attention. So needless to say this past year was hard!

For many years I dreaded New Year's Eve night. Why? Well New Years Eve night is a night to Remember an amazing previous year and look forward to a New Year, new beginnings! But why would I look forward to a new year if the previous year was so hard and I barely made it out!?

I've learned 1 thing about going into the New year that has eliminated my New Year's Eve night dread. Remembrance. Yes the past year has had some painful moments. Some physically, mentally and emotionally draining moments. Yes the pass year has rocked my faith like no other. Yes caring for a dying person that you care about and having to bury them strikes you at your core.

If that's all that I focus on, is all the hard moments and losses I will remain in a state of hopelessness and discouragement. But if I look back and really look closely I will find that God's hand was everywhere, His hand kept me, His presence was near me in every hard moment. His love never left me. I see how He maneuvered many situations to work in my favor. When I remember that I was never alone through every hardship I have hope for the next year. I remember the unanswered prayers that was answered in 2023. Like finding the man of my prayers!! In the mist of all my health struggles the Lord brought the love of my life. On June 24, 2023 I was able to marry the man of my dreams!!!

Remembering His faithfulness is strength building in itself. God never promised that we would not have hardship. What He did promise is that He would never leave us nor forsake us . If you look closely in every hard situation you walked through, you will see that He never left you for one moment.

So go to that New Years Eve gathering and walk into it with a perspective of remembrance. Remembering that whatever you have to walk through in 2024,you will NOT be Alone because you weren't in 2023. God never left you, in fact He carried you!