Are we ready for the new year 2023? As excitement fills our stomachs and as we celebrate with our loved ones surviving and coming into a new year, are we also thankful to God for every experience, event, and achievement or accomplishment that happened in 2022? For me, there were times that I wondered and worried, and in the midst of my worries, God’s promises assured me and gave me peace. A lot of things happened in 2022—too many for me to mention. We should all know if we follow the news. The things that happened were a mixture of good and bad. Nonetheless, we are alive not in the past year but in this new year 2023. Some of the things we should know as long as we are alive are that there is hope, more opportunities, and greatness for every one of us.

Writing about crossing over into the new year, there are many lessons that I learned from living through 2022. Through every moment, experience, action, relationship, etc., I learned:

• Sometimes things are simple, but not easy. We might be wondering what this means. When people ask me what I think about a situation or ask for my opinion, I always tell them that there are multiple perspectives at play. Oftentimes, we tend to see things from a singular perspective which complicates things. However, when we consider the multiple layers involved, we soon realize that although it might not have been easy to resolve, having an understanding and taking the time to get through the situation makes it easy.

• The gift of prayer and trusting God. I found this extremely useful in 2022 and I am bringing it along with me into 2023. I learned through every process, failure, disappointment, and rejection that praying and trusting God with my school projects and life are helpful to get through life. For example, at the beginning of the previous Fall semester, I asked God to give me a new CGPA from my previous one. By trusting Him and working hard toward it, I received it. Prayer and trust are important, but we also have to put in the work.

• Failure is not the end. It is only an opportunity for you to get back up, figure things out, start again, and improve yourself and your skills. In line with this, Carol Dweck describes the growth mindset as “people believing that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” Have you failed before? How about you start again? How about you develop your abilities? How about you try again? When will you get back up?

• Having clear goals to accomplish or achieve is something I realized to be very essential as a student, a college instructor, an employee, a CEO, a pastor, an evangelist, or even as an entrepreneur. Do you know what you want? What do you want to accomplish? Have you clearly defined what your goals are for the year 2023 or are you waiting till the very end? Start now, start early. Remember that the early bird gets the worm. Get to work and get to planning.

• Self-love and Self-worth are important even as a Christian. You can only give what you have. So, for you to love others, to know how worthy every other person is, you have to first love yourself and know your own worth.

• Let go and let God. I have heard a lot of people speak about this or mention it in colloquial conversations but do we really know what it means? Letting go simply means that we are forgoing our past selves and our past lives and that our body dies with Christ. It means that our flesh or worldly desires are dropped, and we are no longer in control of our lives. Also, letting go means that our tomorrow and our purpose are not up to us but to God. On the other hand, letting God means that He is the first, our priority, and the center of our lives. It means that we are resurrected in Christ and it is through Him that we get to have a relationship with God. Letting God means that he governs every decision and action that happens in our lives. Last year, after I submitted a proposal to a conference, I was very nervous and scared and I tried to rely on my own abilities to get me an acceptance. However, as soon as I let God into the entire review process and the response from the team, my fears vanished and I received the acceptance that I yearned for. Are you preventing God’s control and will over your life?

There are still so many lessons to share, but these are the ones I chose to. The question again is are we ready for the new year 2023? Do we feel prepared to continue this journey, this race? What goals do you have planned? What lessons have you learned? What does 2023 mean to you? Please share, I will very much love to hear and learn from you. It should not matter what happened in 2022, what matters now is 2023. This new year is a new and clean slate for your use. Below are some verses to guide us into the new year”

• Hebrews 12:1 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

• Philippians 3:13-14 - Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Happy new year, friends! 🎊