New Year's Eve

The past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes (Isaiah 65:16).

New Year’s Eve. A time of reflection on another year gone by. Some successes, too many failures. Some happy memories, and quite a few regrets. The joy of new babies, new friends, and new marriages, along with sadness over relationships ended by divorce, death, or a few stupid words that should never have been spoken. 2008: a jumbled mix of both good and bad.

New Year’s Eve. A time of relief and hope and plans for the future. Relief that some tough times are finally over. Hope that 2009 will have more pleasant surprises than nasty ones. An evening of making plans and promises so that a year from now, triumph will not be overshadowed by tragedy.

New Year’s Eve: it’s a time when we look at our failures and try to turn over a new leaf. It’s a time to say ‘no’ to bad eating habits and ‘yes’ to exercise. It’s a time when we pledge to love more and fight less. It’s a time when we hope that our lives can be improved.

A Christian can experience New Year’s Eve any time. It starts with personal reflection. We feel the sorrows of New Year’s Eve when we look at our lives with an honest, appraising eye and realize how much pain we have caused by our selfishness, our pettiness, and our pride. We have hurt both strangers and people we love; we have damaged relationships that we hoped would last a lifetime. When we realize the hurt we’re responsible for, we wish that we could change the past, or at least set things right, all the while knowing that we can’t. We also want the opportunity to try again—be a better friend, a better parent, a better boss, a better human being. But based on our track record, we hold little hope for such improvements to occur.

So we pray to Jesus. We ask Him to forgive us for our mistakes, to heal the hurts we’ve caused and fix what we have broken. We ask Him to reshape our hearts—make us more loving, more forgiving, more patient and generous. And as Jesus works in our hearts, we experience the New Year’s Eve transition—we leave the pain of the past behind and look forward to the future, knowing that with Christ’s help things will be better. When you go to Jesus for mercy and strength, each day can be the beginning of a bright New Year.