Be Expectant in 2020: Imagine What's Next!
- Sandy Ische
- Dec 31, 2019
- 3 min read
My daughter announced the other day that she was going to get her hair cut. When she returned, her beautiful long hair had been chopped into a cute short 'do. She no longer had the long hairstyle she'd had for a while, but was bringing in the New Year with a new style.
The New Year does that to us. It moves us forward into the newness of a new path, a new style, a new "me." What will that look like for you? When you look in the mirror a year from now, or five or ten years down the road, what or who do you want to see looking back at you? For my girl it was a new do and she wore it well.
My high school girl friend and I have seen each other through a lot, both the high times and lows. She has come out miraculously ending 2019 graduating from college with her bachelor's degree, a long time dream she had started once upon a time but never crossed the finish line. In addition, she is starting 2020 with another dream, as she set forth with the goal to not only finish school but aside from her already amazing accomplishment of going back to school to earn her degree, she is starting a new career in the government sector. Wow! "Double the blessings!," I told her. You see, not too long before that her 20 year marriage ended in divorce. Where the road of despair ended, she had the courage to let go of the hardship she was facing and instead she chose to imagine what's next.
What were your takeaways in 2019? Where will 2020 take you?
There are circumstances that happen in our lives that leave us drained, discouraged, and sometimes without hope. Some experiences, such as a divorce, can be out of our control. Yet, have faith, "for the Lord did not give you a spirit of fear, but the power of love and discipline," 2 Timothy 1:7. My friend was disciplined to do what needed to be done to not only reach the finish line, but to continue it to a brighter future. A future filled with courage, joy, and hope.
Take courage knowing that God has set a path before you, "to give you a future filled with hope," Jeremiah 29:11. This is what the Lord has promised us, and in the hope we receive we are filled with joy!
What were your joys in 2019? What new victories will you allow the Lord to do in your life in 2020?
In this New Year, the end of a decade that leads into a new decade, I lovingly challenge and encourage you to choose courage, joy, and hope. Let go of the old and welcome the new. Be expectant in 2020 that this will be your best year yet. Make it a time to refresh, reset, and renew. Allow the Lord to make anew in you.
What will you leave behind in 2019?
How will you welcome 2020?
Is it with a new 'do? A new career? A new dream?
It takes courage to believe in your dreams, to believe in yourself, and to ask, "What's next?"
Be expectant in 2020 and have the courage to imagine what's next!
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
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