Wow, it’s the end of 2024 already! I still remember writing this post, ‘looking back with gratitude and forward with hope’ at the end of last year, and how I felt then. I always meant to do a follow up blog to that one, but didn’t quite get to it. Until now, that is, a whole year later.

A lot happened shortly after I wrote that blog. I still wanted to have my holiday, so I kept up my search for flights. Thankfully I found a flight from another city not too far from me, to the country I had planned to travel to. It was scheduled for two days after the original flight, but hey ho, better late than never. I booked the new flights, made sure we were early to the airport this time around, and voila, we were off! We had a lovely time away, and I entered 2024 right where I had hoped and planned. In a sense it ended well. Although I lost the money spent on the original flight and the first two nights of the hotel stay, I consider that the price of the lessons I learnt. An added bonus was that it inspired me to write the aforementioned blog post.

Roll on to 2024 itself, which has been an interesting year to say the least. It has been one of ups and downs, wonderful news and sad news, joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, as I’m sure it has been for many of us. On the whole though, I would say I have experienced more of the laughter than tears, and I thank God for that.

As I reflect on the past year, I realise there are two lenses I can look at it with. On the one hand, at the start of the year, there were three main things which I had really hoped would happen in 2024. Alas, none of them actually happened. Suffice to say, I walked along some disappointing paths. But, but, but… that is just one lens.

If I swap lenses and look back with gratitude, I realise that there were lots of other things which did happen this year, some which I had hoped for, but also some I had not even expected. Doors I had knocked on may not have opened, but there were also doors that opened for me which I had not even thought to knock on. Some plans may not have come to fruition, but some did, while some are still in the pipeline. Above all, I had the assurance of the constant presence and goodness of God through it all.

And that, beloved readers, is really the summary of my reflections for this year. That through it all, I’ve learnt to trust Him, because He is God, He is present, and He is good. His goodness is not a characteristic that fluctuates depending on whether or not I get what I want. It is a fundamental part of who He is. He is good in the mountain, and He is good in the valley. He is good when He causes me to rejoice, and when He is wiping away my tears. He is good while the going is good, and while it isn’t. He is good, full stop (Psalm 34:8, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 136:1, Psalm 145:9). “The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in Him.” (Nahum 1:7, NLT).

His presence is not one that fluctuates either. He is always there (Psalm 139, Matthew 28:20). I may not have always felt it or been conscious of it, but then, His presence is not dependent on my feelings or my consciousness. Much like the air around me does not appear or disappear depending on how conscious I am of it. Moreover, God and His Word are greater than my feelings. Knowing this is quite comforting, that God does not rely on something as fickle as feelings to be who He is to me, and to act in accordance with His promises.

And so, as we say goodbye to the old year and look forward to the new year, I pray that we will do so with the confidence that God is God, He is ever present, and He is wholly, constantly, overwhelmingly good!

Image Source here.