Do you feel like 2022 felt more like two years but went by super fast too? I feel kind of beat up and I’m limping over the finish line, but I am still here and I survived it all! How about you? How are you doing?

Do you feel hopeful for this year or are you tentatively tiptoeing into it? I think I’m in a both/and situation. But I think most of life is learning how to walk in the tension of two very different sides of the same coin. I have seen that things in my life tend to come in tandem:
Joy & Grief
Trials & Blessings
Belief & Unbelief
you get the idea…

It’s the juxtaposition of seeing, experiencing or feeling two very different things at the same time. Very rarely do we have the luxury to deal with one thing at a time.

It can feel like I’m watching a tennis match trying to navigate which side has the ball and how I need to respond to it. Do I rush in to hit it back over the net? Do I let it go out of bounds? Where do I want to place the ball when I have the opportunity to serve? It can get dizzying and confusing.

There are things from 2022 that are not tied up in a bow for us. They are still demanding attention with the added fun of the looming shadows of things that we will face, both known and unknown, in 2023.

But here is the hope I am holding onto as I walk the tightrope:

“The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along
the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.’ ”
Psalm 32:8

Well, Ok then! Bring on 2023! …but gently… ;)

The hope I have is based on the irrefutable facts of Who God is and who I am in Him! I came across this list from somewhere:

God chose you Isaiah 43:9b-10 “I said, you are my servant; I have chosen you and not rejected you. So, do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will
uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

God prepared for you Ephesians 2:20 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

God has a plan for you Jeremiah 29:11 “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 a hope and a future.”

God will fight for you Exodus 6:6&7 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, that brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.’ ”

God will be faithful to you 1 Thessalonians 5:24 “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

No matter what 2022 was like for us or what 2023 will hold for us, we can know ~ fully and wholly ~ that God is with us. And though I may not be completely confident in my tight walking skills, my hope is not in my ability!

God loves you so much!
I hope you have the most incredible day!
All my love ~
Jodi xo

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