A Challenging Year
To risk starting this week on a downer, this year has been tough on a lot of us, hasn’t it?
It’s easy to want to sugarcoat it… It’s easy to complain about it… It’s easy to want to ignore it… but the truth is that in one way or another, this year has been a challenge.
Restrictions, home-quarantine, loss of jobs, loss of lives, fear, arguments, distress, unrest, masks, excessive hand-washing, social distancing, cancelled vacations, lonely holidays… the list goes on.
It has been rough.
And as we face the coming year, many of us are perched on the edge of our chairs hoping for a better tomorrow… for a better year… for HOPE.
Anxiety
Anxiety is something I wrestle with pretty frequently. Whenever I am overcome with an onslaught of things I can’t control or fix or solve, I feel paralyzed by anxiety… wanting to hide from it all.
This past year has been a prime example of resurfacing stressors & fears for me from our time in Hokkaido. (I can’t stress enough that it was so beautiful there, with amazing things to see & do, with even more wonderful people to support & encourage us… but the stress of constant culture shock was real.)
And when this always-talked-about pandemic showed up, flash backs of stress traumas began to consume me in anxiety, making me fear what was to come.
God Is in Control
It’s tempting to walk into 2021 with trepidation as well, wondering if the struggles will continue or even worsen in some way.
But then I remember one very wonderful truth that I can cling to with sure assurance… God is in control even when I am not… even when the whole world seems out of control.
The more I read the Bible… the more I talk to God, sharing my heart & leaning on Him & learning to trust Him & love Him more… the more I begin to see the beautiful tapestry woven by our great & loving God.
God Always Has a Plan
It’s easy to see 2020 as an onslaught of misery & pain… or at least of discomfort & inconvenience… It’s easy to be like the Israelites roaming the desert, complaining & consumed with thinking of how life once was.
Aside from the fact that the Israelites had been in bondage before roaming the desert, they still craved the familiarity of their bondage.
Walking in the desert wasn’t easy for them. And although God led them with a pillar of fire by night & a pillar of cloud by day, God provided for them with sufficient food, & God answered their complaints through Moses’ prayers (while they should have trusted & asked God themselves versus complaining & pushing Moses to pray on their behalf), all the while God was leading them to a beautiful land to call their home in FREEDOM… & despite all of that, they longed for their old life versus God’s plan.
That’s so often the common response to struggle. Maybe we were in bondage to wrong thinking or bad habits or thinking life is all about us & what we want… & it’s uncomfortable having our way disrupted & pulled out from under us… But I guarantee you this, if we cling to God & trust God with the changes: It’s for our good… every time.
I Needed to Remember
When the crazy of 2020 began & the fears of a life interrupted trickled in & anxiety of returning to the isolation I felt in Hokkaido reared up… I was afraid… SO afraid I cried many times, begging God that it not be so.
But in His gentle, loving way, He whispered His reminders across my heart that come what may, I needed to remember I can cling to Him as a steady & sure foundation when it seems everything else is crumbling around me.
And as we head into this new year, that same loving reminder echoes in my heart: Trust Him, He has you… come what may.
A Hope-Filled New Year
It’s a HOPE-FILLED New Year ahead. HE is our HOPE.
Our hope is not in our plans working out, but in His plans working out.
Our hope is not in finding rest in hoped-for vacations, but in finding rest in Him.
Our hope is not in feeling strong & confident, but in remembering He is strong even when we are not & finding confidence in Him.
Our hope is not in a vaccine or a cure or the end of the virus, but in realizing that He IS Sufficient… Come what may.
Our hope is in learning to rest in & trust in HIM.
Personal Control Is a Lie That Keeps Us from Experiencing True PEACE
I know it’s hard. I know it sucks sometimes & you just want to go back to the life you had. I feel the craving for the vaccine just on the slim chance it will mean I can have “my” life back.
And I have to ask God forgiveness for that… that He have mercy on my never-ending yearning to grasp back supposed control for myself so I don’t have to rely on trust in Him as much.
Forgive me, God.
Because it’s a lie, guys. Our personal control is a lie. Our hope in those other things is a lie.
It’s a lie we cling to because it’s our familiar, but it’s a lie all the same.
Only hope in Him is secure & sure… steady & faithful… full of grace & love that can fulfill us in ways unimaginable. A SURE Hope that breeds PEACE.
A Glorious HOPE!! Praise Be to God!
2020 has been an exercise of remembering my real hope is in Him… not in life, or my determination, or my plans… not in government or culture or society… but in Him ALONE... In life AND in death.
And what a wonderful, glorious, praise-worthy HOPE it is!
We can walk confidently into 2021, not reliant on a vaccine & not even reliant on things going back to “normal”, but because we have REAL HOPE in One Who will never disappoint!
He is with us always, even to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:20)
He is Love. (1 John 4:8-16)
He is our Refuge & our Strength & a very present Help in time of trouble. (Psalm 46:1-3)
He is the Author & Perfecter of our faith, so entrust Him with the pen. (Hebrews 12:2)
Shine HOPE to the world by clinging to Him as your true & only Hope… come. what. may.
Coming Next Week
Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement.
As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.
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A Note from Michelle:
This blog/website has been running for over TWO years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3
If you would like to hear more of my story, check out the “About Me” page. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” page, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3
Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox, along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!
Fashion as a Force for GOOD:
Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Check out this week’s featured beauty!!
Jubilee Bracelet Set (Haiti)
This set of 3 stretch bracelets features cranberry & blush hand-rolled Haitian clay beads with brass accent beads. Every product has variations as a part of the Artisan-made charm! (On Sale Now & While Supplies Last!)
Meet the Artisan:
Makensia’s Story of Hope
Surrounded by the tropical beauty of Haiti, Makensia is also surrounded by extreme poverty. But neither poverty, nor the death of a child, nor domestic abuse have defined her. She has persevered through many challenging seasons & continues to pursue good things for her family.
While many mothers in her village have been forced to make the heartbreaking decision to give up their children to poverty orphanages to save them from starvation, this mother of five has been able to earn enough income to keep her family together with the simple act of hand-rolling Haitian clay beads & making jewelry from discarded cereal boxes. Your purchase helps Makensia & other Haitian mothers continue to keep their families together.
The Impact of Your Purchase:
Haiti is home to almost 500,000 orphans. The majority of these orphans have not been orphaned by parental deaths, but by parents who gave them up simply because they could not afford to feed them. No mother should have to give up her child. Through your purchase, you provide parents with a sustainable income, so they can keep their children! Be a part of families stepping into bright futures together!
Purchase this piece & empower a woman in Haiti!
How You Can Help:
SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!
Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions allow me to continue this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win win!
