During my sabbatical last year, I spent a personal prayer day at a retreat center in Maryland. While there, I came across the words "We begin again" on a brick. This struck a deep chord in me, reminding me that God often leads us onto new paths or calls us to do new things. As we step into this new year, I feel these words are fitting to share with you.

The new year’s calendar offers a clean slate—a symbolic reset—but the deeper reality is we’re on an untrodden path again. We’re not in control of the new year. But we’re also reminded that God is in control and his mercies are new every morning. It’s not just okay—it’s even better—that we’re not in control.

No matter what we experienced last year—regrets, triumphs, failures, or joy—we have the opportunity to begin again. The Apostle Paul has these encouraging words for us: 

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13–14)

This means we overcome the grip of the past with faith in God. Our past can weigh us down when God calls us to step up and move on. Our journey forward requires faith and trust—faith to believe that God’s plans are good and trust that rests in his unfailing love, even when our circumstances are challenging or the path ahead is unclear. God's grace and strength are sufficient in our times of need.

As we step into this new year, I leave you with this question: How will you say, "We begin again"? Will it be with a downbeat tone, simply returning to the grind? Or will it be with faith and anticipation, seizing each new day with the confidence that God’s guidance and new opportunities are unfolding right before you?

Let us choose to embrace each day as a gift waiting to be opened. May we begin again with hearts full of trust in his goodness!