At Christmas we celebrate a beginning. At the New Year we stand at a threshold. Together they form one holy movement—from God coming to us, to God leading us forward. The Christmas story does not begin in strength or certainty. It begins in weakness. A child is born not in a palace but in a manger. God enters our world quietly, vulnerably, and personally. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). God does not shout from heaven; God comes near. He steps into our history, our wounds, our confusion, and our waiting. Christmas tells us this simple truth: we are not alone. God is with us. Yet Christmas does not end at the manger. The child grows. The story moves. And now we stand at the turning of the year. A new year invites questions we cannot fully answer. What will this year bring? What will we face? What will change? Scripture does not promise us an easy road, but it does promise us a faithful God. “See, I am doing a new thing; now it springs up—do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19). The New Year is not about forgetting the past but about trusting God with the future. The same God who came as a child walks with us into tomorrow. The light that shone in Bethlehem now shines on our path. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). That light is not removed by uncertainty, loss, or fear. It is carried forward by hope. Christmas assures us that God enters our lives. The New Year calls us to respond—to walk in faith, to love with courage, to live with humility. We do not step into the year alone; we step into it with Christ. “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). So as we move from Christmas into the New Year, let us carry this hope: the God who came to us will not leave us. And with Him, every new beginning is held in grace.
50
