A New Season of Hope

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --- Jeremiah 29:11

In less than twelve hours there will be a New Year.  2010.  That looks odd just writing it.  With a New Year comes reflection time of the year that is about the close --- the joys, the sorrow, the excitement, the fear.  With a New Year comes a sense of renewal and hope of better things to come ---- hopefully more joy than the sorrow and more excitement than the fear.

It's truly amazing to me that one can find a passage in the Bible that fits for the moment in your life.  I must confess that up until about a year ago, I was truly spiritually unhealthy.  I was in that state for many, many years, and I truly did not know that until last year.  God had been talking to me in His own way, but I was not open or willing to hearing His message.  I was under a great deal of stress at that time.  I finally gave in and, as they say "let go" to Him.  You can probably guess what happened....the stress I was feeling went away.  The "stressors" were still there, but it was as if God had wrapped a magic shield around me and made the feeling of the pain go away!!


I was raised in a fairly strict Catholic family and went through all the sacraments and rituals of the Catholic religion.  But I truly did not feel that I was close to God or felt that He was a part of my life.  I always felt a distance from Him.  I also did not/could not see the relevance of Scriptures to the day to day experiences of my life.  When I attended Mass on Sundays, I felt like I was in another world and escaping from the real world.  After Mass I felt the same as I did when I entered the Church.  I'm not writing to knock the Catholic religion, but I truly believe that one's spiritual path and religion they pursue is a very personal one.  One's relationship with God can only happen with one's self and not one that is forced upon by another.  So if you ask what faith I practice, I can tell you it's the path of Christianity and Jesus Christ.  I now find great comfort in reading the Bible and finding relevancy in my life to various passages.  The answer to everything can be found in the Bible.  Whatever your faith is, I truly hope that you are "spiritually healthy" or will soon be.   I truly believe a healthy spiritual life serves as the basic foundation one must have in order to live through life's many journeys and to appreciate those journeys as well.



The passage from Jeremiah 29:11 so fits my life today.  I believe that my life and that of my family's is in His hands.  We must have faith, trust and hope that God has plans for all of us, and it is for our own good.  We must be patient and seek His wisdom to do what He has planned for us, and that means keeping an open ear, eye, mind and heart to what He is trying to say to us.   And we must have patience as He will reveal His plan for us in His time, not ours.  With a New Year closing approaching I pray for myself, my family, and friends (including new friends who may find this site helpful) a new season of hope!!