New Year, Same Struggles

God’s Unfailing Love

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,

for I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143:8 (NIV)

          New Year’s day. For some, this brings the promise of fresh opportunities, a chance to start over, a blank page just waiting to be filled in. For others, it’s just a roll-over from yesterday, waking to the same heartache, the same struggles, the same pain that’s been dogging us for a while.

          For me, this New Year begins with sorrow as I head out to visit my parents. A couple of days after Christmas, Mum fell and hit her head on a table, causing an intra-cranial bleed. Now she’s in the hospital, a shriveled and lethargic shadow of the smart, beautiful, vibrant woman she used to be. For several months now, we’ve slowly watched her disappear as she gradually fades into the thick fog of Dementia. Each day, we wonder what she will remember and who she will forget. Every morning brings new struggles, new challenges.

          Although we grieve, we do not despair because we’ve put our trust in God. Waking every morning to the certainty that He loves us brings some clarity to the kaleidoscope of struggles and emotions every day brings.

          God sees our struggles. He feels our pain. He hears our prayers. He will guide our path in the coming year, whatever may come. Because He loves us. Because He cares.