As last year is enveloped by the unknown of 365 untouched tomorrows, images of unspoiled beauty flit through my mind. The petals of a flower unfurling beneath the sun. A freshly birthed baby’s lusty mewling as his lungs exhale for the first time. The lingering scent of rain after summer’s introductory thunderstorm.

[bbctt tweet="Newness invites hope and promise...#happynewyear#2019#hopealways"]

Newness invites hope and promise; a new year is no different.
We celebrate it with fanfare and fireworks, Times Square tributes, and resolutions to live intentionally well. But, even the most beautiful of new things can lose their luster. Newborns wail from morning till night. Flowers wither in a summer drought. Hail tramples the tender shoot.
In the same way, anticipation of a New Year can be lost somewhere between the everyday of work and worry. Expectation and exhaustion. Unrealized desires and actuality. We may face ill health, broken relationships, or aching hearts as the year progresses.
When those times arrive, what are we to do? Will hope fall from us like the tinted leaves of autumn’s trees? Will we deny ever believing in the promises of an unforged year?

[bbctt tweet="Even in the worst happens in your life or mine, we can trust the creator of days.#hopealways#trustinHim"]

Even if the worst happens in your life or mine, we can trust the creator of days. The One who orchestrates the turning of time. Our hope doesn’t exist within the squares of an unmarked calendar, but in Him who has given us “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (NIV-1 Peter 1:3).
The Message version reads, “We’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all…”
While we might raise our glasses to toast the New Year, how much more should we raise our hands and voices toward heaven? All of the promises that belong to our future began the day we became new in Christ. We have only begun to live them out. To experience His grace. To understand His love.
Be encouraged, daughter of God. Not only will your Father in heaven take care of you in 2019, but He will attend to your needs for eternity.
Father, we surrender the coming days of 2019 to you. We trust you with the unknown of our tomorrows as we trust you with eternity. May we honor you with the time you’ve given us here on earth as we look forward to 
Peace, grace, and happy New Year,                                                                                                    Tammy
Linking up with some of the following:
Inspire Me Monday, Literacy Musing Mondays, and, Dance with Jesus