Anyone else have a bad start to the new year? I know I’m not alone. What a difference from New Year’s Eve; which was a fun, festive, family celebration. It wasn’t perfect. My 11-year-old daughter cried, refusing to eat with us, because she felt sorry for the lobster we’d prepared for our celebration. But I’ve learned to let go of perfectionism. We comforted her with hugs and prayers,while respecting her space. The rest of the night was joyful, with games, movies,and lots of laughter. How did everything change so quickly?

I’m going on year three of chronic illness. On January 1st, of course on the weekend; a crown popped off one of my back teeth, the pharmacy lost my prescription, and I had a bad migraine with severe pain and nausea; preventing me from reading my new books. I don’t make resolutions, but I had promised to be nice to myself this year by delving back into my favorite long lost hobbies The mood wasn’t set anyway… It was downright dismal outside; dark and gloomy with icy rain. Plus, millions of brave and beautiful people around the world are sick, and dying of coronavirus. Happy New Year?

I’m not superstitious, but for a brief second, I felt caught up in some kind of New Year’s Day premonition state: “Is this how the whole year’s going to go? I’ve already had a very rough past two years… not again! Not to mention, we are already living during a horrific pandemic.

Yet, on New Year’s Day, I kept thinking of the Bible verse, which has given me hope and reminded me to look for the silver linings on those dark, gloomy days… “Because of the LORD’S great love, we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-33 NIV).

So I prayed. And today, January 2nd, hasn’t been the best day, but it’s been a much better day. God has clearly been compassionate and merciful to me, by showing me that He’d been among, and above, the clouds of yesterday. More importantly, God’s compassions (mercies) are new every morning; not just on January 1st!

Because God likes to remind me of His love in big, colorful, Heavenly ways; on January 2, 2021, He painted me a brilliant sunset! I’m sharing my gift with you, even though my version doesn’t begin to compare with God’s natural masterpiece. The sky changed within mere minutes. God can change our lives for the better within the span of a sunrise or sunset or even seconds! My prayer is that we don’t give up on God, especially during this dark, desolate Covid 19 Pandemic. May we Christians all keep believing and hoping in the good gifts God has for us, while encouraging others to remember that God is LOVE, Jesus is LIGHT, and The Holy Spirit lives within US!

“Because of the LORD’S great love, we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-33 NIV).

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