SOMETHING NEW IN ‘22

Calendars and planners are plentiful this month as we prepare to input appointments and commitments onto the blank pages. Many forego the paper plotting, using their phone calendar instead. I prefer a portable planner with pages for notes and ideas, probably because I’m a writer. I love new calendars with large squares available to me when I make my to-do lists, jot down a phone number, or get an idea for a story.

The other day I heard a commercial which touted a theme of “We’re doing something new in ‘22.” I jotted it down in my planner so as to not forget it. Since the pandemic began two years ago (yes, that long ago), and I went through my cancer journey, the years seem the same. Isolation, protection, cancellation. We do what we feel is best for us individually and try to protect others. We all hoped and prayed that last year would be better, and yet this year we are still isolating, protecting, and seeing cancellations.

On January 1, 2022, I made up my mind I was going to have a good year! I wrote that on page one of my new journal. Then when I heard the commercial about doing something new in ‘22, I adopted that as my New Year slogan. I am tired of the same old same old. This morning in my quiet time, the Holy Spirit led me to Isaiah 43:19. It says, “Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” God is about to do something new and He wants me to see it! Something new in ‘22! When I’m struggling He will make a way…a new way. When I’m in the desert He will provide a new stream.

I have been praying about several new things which have been presented to me recently and I must admit that I am tempted to say yes, but not every new thing is possible, wise, or good. We must watch, seek, and hear from God before agreeing to take on something new. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.“ The key word in the verse is ‘I.’ It’s all about God’s plans for me, not June’s plans. I can fill every block in my planner with good things and projects, but if they aren’t God’s plan for me, I’ve wasted my time. So, how do I know what to say yes to? The next three verses guide me. “Then you will call upon me, and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.”

Yes, God is doing something new in ‘22 and I am watching, seeking, and listening. I want His plan for my life to be what gets written in my planner. When I seek Him with ALL my heart, He will guide me through the year as new things begin to happen.