Hello, January

A Prayer for the New Year

God of the New Year,

We enter this month full of emotions — 
excitement, nerves, wonder, sadness, and hope
we see your love scattered through our days
we see your grace poured upon us
we see your reflection in us. 

But sometimes we ask: Are you there, God?
We wonder: Will it get easier?
We ponder: How do I keep moving forward?

Some days we barely managed to get out of bed
others days we stumbled through the motions
our hearts weighed down with fear and envy
our words not always kind
but you were there 
loving us
sheltering us. 

God of all, 
you are in the business of making all things new
this year may our eyes turn to you 
seeing what new thing you’re doing in us
how your story of redemption is our story, too
how your grace begs to be known in our lives
how your unending love finds us in the darkest corners
how your forgiveness reaches to our hearts
and transforms us into people who forgive.

Make us new in you. 

Turn our eyes to the small 
and quiet ways you make yourself known —
the glistening snow
hot coffee
the phone call from a friend
the apology text after an argument
meals around the table
hands of children reaching for a hug.

In our waking and sleeping, may we turn to you. 
In our playing and working, may we offer our gifts to you. 
In our questioning and believing, may we keep our hearts on your word. 

You walked with Abraham into an unknown land 
You counted the multitude of stars as his descendants
You called prophets to new lands to share your word
You called your people to hope and restoration 
You walked with Mary and Joseph to welcome the Savior in a manger
You called fisherman and tax collectors to proclaim your kingdom
You turned a symbol of death into a symbol of hope and resurrection for all time. 

You are no stranger 
to bringing your people 
from desperation to hope,
from sickness to healing,
from unbelief to belief,
from uncertainty to peace. 

You are the God of all things
making all things new. 

This year
this day
this moment
make me new. 

Amen. 

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series “Hello.”