The Beauty of New Beginnings for Your Family
I haven’t heard very many people say they’re sad to see 2020 go. It’s been a trying year for many of us. Sweet families we know have gone through the absolute ringer. Our family has personally experienced a job loss, medical issues with kids, COVID itself, lots of isolation, and the loss of a friend we went to seminary with years ago, to name a few.
As we prioritize our families in this uncertain time in history, I think of the hope found in Isaiah 43:19:
“Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.”
2020 has been a wilderness. It’s been dry, discouraging, and weary for most families. But guess what? We made it through. Okay, maybe just barely but we did! We still have breath in our lungs. We still have a purpose on this earth. We’ve seen just how much we can survive when we come together. We’ve realized what matters most.
I’m asking God to provide rivers in the desert in our family for 2021. I don’t have to sit in my flesh and fear the future, but I can look ahead in confidence toward what God can do in and through us while facing the unknown. Maybe you’re praying for the exact thing.
God is doing a new thing if we take notice. He is making a way for us in this coming year. He desires we draw closer to Him and seek his will for our future. He wants us to look for the signs of his coming and live with an eternal perspective.
Perhaps, he’s calling you out of your comfort zone, to share your faith with a friend far from Him, make a geographical move, slow down in your kids’ schedules, invite people into your home who are hurting, serve your spouse better, become more disciplined in prayer and reading His Word, and more.
One of the temptations we may face is to look back and wish life was “how it used to be.” Trust me, I’ve already done this a few times. I’m ready for life to be normal again without masks. But I still believe God is calling us to something more.
He desires we put our trust in Him and rely on Him to provide what we need for the future. Staying stuck in the past won’t allow us to pursue what God wants to do in us now and in the future.
Coming out of the wilderness of 2020, I’m so thankful God isn’t finished with us yet. He brings the beauty of new beginnings. Hope is not lost. Fear doesn’t have the final word. We can start 2021 confidently in the One who is writing our family story and has exciting chapters in the months to come.
He will do a new thing. He will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Blessings,
Samantha
Samantha Krieger is a pastor’s wife and mom to 4. She is the author of Quiet Time: A 30-day Devotional Retreat for Moms in the Trenches. Her writing appears regularly on Her View From Home, Love What Matters, and Family Life. Connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
