So, I could write an entire post on the ups and downs of 2020 and its multiple dimensions of weird/difficult/sobering/painful/illuminating, but I think we've got that topic pretty much covered, haven't we? The trials of 2020 aren't over, and we must continue to be in prayer for those who are suffering, grieving, struggling to make ends meet, or physically/mentally/spiritually burdened as a result of those ongoing trials.
But, though the difficulties may be ongoing, one thing has drawn to an end.
2020.
Welcome to the New Year, my wonderful readers. Welcome to 2021 and the adventure that awaits us. Welcome to our next step into the future God has crafted for us, to the dangers and perils, the joys and blessings, the unexpected twists and turns, the lightless nights and brilliant mornings, the blind march into the great unknown with God's nudging hand, heaven-pointing Word, and voice as our unfailing compass.
Welcome, welcome, welcome to the next leg of the journey. Are you terrified? Me too. Thrilled? Same. All the feels? Oh, yes, I hear that loud and clear. We don't know what's coming, how difficult or wonderful or both it will be, but here's what we do know.
Jesus lives and he adores you. He wants to craft you, to whittle you into the beautiful, unique shape you were designed to become. You may not have felt it, but 2020 was part of that shaping process. On the edge of 2021, you are one step closer to your completion, more beautiful than your humble beginnings, not yet as beautiful as your glorious finish, but Jesus' mark is upon you. His signature. He is working, and this is your journey. Embrace it.
Sometimes craftsmen must break in order to create. Sometimes shaping something beautiful from timber as stubborn and blind and control-freakish and narrow-minded as we are requires chipping things away, shaving off excess, cutting painful grooves that strike deep to our hearts and leave us scarred and exposed. Maybe 2020 left you splintered in worry. Maybe it sanded you smooth with new peace. Whatever state you're in, look in the mirror of the Word and see the beauty Jesus sees—the beauty of a creature that he has redeemed and is actively, lovingly, passionately perfecting.
You and I are in the hands of Jesus. The hands that bear scars from the death he conquered for us, and callouses from the work he puts into our ongoing sanctification with every moment we are his. The year ahead may be a mystery, full of sharp tools and abrasive trials, struggles that may grind parts of our lives into dust and leave other parts smoother and more whole than before. We can't see the blueprint. We don't know our own grand design. But we know that we can trust our Craftsman. We know that he has only our best in mind.
Welcome to 2021, my amazing readers, to the next leg of your adventure in the hands of the Craftsman. Trust Jesus. Trust his work in you, in your life, in your soul. Be willing to accept his creative decisions, however painful they may be, remembering that we are new in Christ, and newer all the time.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ~2 Cor. 5:17
Welcome, all, to 2021.
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