New Year’s is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy the anticipation of new beginnings and the reflective nature that comes with looking back to the prior year.

At the church I attend, we have a huge New Year’s Eve celebration. Picture a Pentecostal gala, mixed with great church. People come dressed in their best outfits- sequence and frills to boot. It is a party, indeed. We release confetti canons at the stroke of midnight, and ring in the new year with God’s people.

This year was especially great. The music team sang a song entitled “Fear is not my Future.” Though we practiced it countless times, I was undone in the presence of God. The lyrics were simple, yet so powerful.

Hello Peace. Hello Joy. Hello Love. Hello Strength. Hello Hope, it’s a new horizon.

Saying hello to all these things and more that the Lord has, means saying goodbye to their counterparts. Goodbye fear, goodbye discontentment, weakness, hatred and hopelessness. God is so good to give us new mercies everyday, and fresh beginnings every year.

Maybe you feel stuck in the past or in mistakes you made in 2023. Perhaps you feel trapped in a cycle of feeling worthless or less than. Friend, you matter. Your story is not over. There’s a new horizon. Say hello to 2024 and all the goodness it has to offer.

Rachel Skirvin is a lover of travel, nachos, and the gospel. She is a graduate of Urshan College and will most likely always call it Gateway. She is pursuing her master’s degree in counseling and human services with an emphasis in trauma and crisis and is currently serving at The Pentecostals of Cooper City in South Florida.