New Year Musing: Part 2

The first few seconds of a new year break quietly, though accompanied by the hullabaloo and cacophony of people cheering, glasses clinking, TVs blaring, music playing.

They slip silently by, even while celebrators are caught up in commemorating them with party hats and confetti, sparkling lights and shouts of joy.

But for all their acclaim, these first precious seconds go unnoticed. Amid streamers and champagne, they are trampled underfoot, blissfully ignored and blatantly dismissed. These first few new chances, these first new opportunities of another year--they are, often, entirely wasted.

It is only a select few who truly experience the gentle magic of the new year's beginning, only a handful of people who experience the restorative dawning of a second chance, a new chance, a blank book with 365 pages to fill, a 12-month capsule of concentrated potential.

It is those who slip outside the hustle and bustle a few seconds before midnight, those who remove their party hat, tuck away their confetti, and stand under the moon as the year transfers over. It is those who lower their heads, close their eyes, and whisper a prayer, a simple one, a silent one, a heartfelt prayer to the One Who makes the years.

The true magic, the true meaning of the new year--it is not found in alcohol or parties. It is not found in the descent of a glittery silver ball. It is found in prayer, in peace, in sweet time spent with God and soft songs sung to the gentle moon.

The New Year has no need for despair. It has no place among the dark and the garbage of the year before it. It belongs in a category all its own, always its own, on a pedestal of hope and of new beginnings.

So make a toast.
Rouse a cheer.
Watch the ball drop.

Welcome the New Year with good, open arms; celebrate it, cherish it, in any way you wish.

But take the time to step outside--to hold the moon--to whisper "thanks".

Then let the Newness wash upon you.
Begin again.
Don't look back.

Here's to another potential-drenched (second) chance. ✨