Hope for a new year

As the sun was setting at the end of a grey day, the last day of the year gifted us with just a touch of red sky.

I know this year has been so hard for so many. That was certainly the tone around our dinner table tonight when I asked everyone to share what had been good about 2021. The first response was “nothing!” But once we got started, half an hour later we were still talking about the good things!

There’s so much I’m thankful for in this year gone by. We’ve had great times with family and friends, we’ve been to beautiful places, we’ve had some wonderful adventures and tried new things, there have been some significant moments (have we mentioned Timothy was cancer free in recent tests?), we have been loved and cared for by family, friends and medical teams, and we have been involved in meaningful work and ministry. I have learnt so much about God, about myself and about others.

Yes, there was an awful lot of difficulty in 2021. There were some very very challenging days. Yet I’m not saying good riddance. There is much I’ll look back on in thankfulness and that I think will stand out in my mind for many years to come.

However I very much hope the red sky this evening points forward to hope for a better year to come.