As we enter the New Year, I realize how important it is that I hang onto and be grateful for the miracles God has already performed in my life.

Some of the seasons we go through are challenging and uncomfortable. Paul demonstrated for us how to navigate uncomfortable places. No matter whether he was in prison or on a sinking ship, Paul chose to praise God at all times.

I have spent a lot of my life living with fear, guilt, and shame. My anxieties have had their own anxiety. I’ve had a deep sense of feeling unwelcome that I have carried since I was a young child. God has poured His grace on me in such a way that these things don’t have the grip on me that they used to. Sometimes there’s a hard day and some of that old stuff comes up again, but that’s when I have to remind myself that we don’t give God glory with our lives when we continue to carry things He has already healed us from.

I love how Jesus let Peter know in such an intimate and personal way in John 21:15 that he was forgiven, still welcome, and that there were people Peter needed to love and serve. Peter had to choose to accept Jesus’ grace and move forward.

Like it says in Hebrews 12:1, "So, since we stand surrounded by all those who have gone before, an enormous cloud of witnesses, let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us." Hebrews 12:1

This is my favorite Bible verse: 1 Peter 5:10

In his kindness, God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So, after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.