I have never been one to be crazy about making New Year’s “resolutions.” I think sometimes we are too hard on ourselves if we fail to fulfill them. I instead have started a process of setting goals and praying over each step I take in the year to come. I also prayerfully choose a word and a verse that helps set the theme and tone for the weeks ahead.

Even though I don’t always like to call them resolutions- I do think there is something so beautiful about setting ourselves up for success and for striving to reach higher. I also love the idea of a clean slate. I was praying with hands lifted as 2019 rolled over into a new decade. I closed my eyes in one year and opened them in another. I felt such a peace as I stepped from the teen years to the twenties of the 2000s.

2019 was undoubtedly a difficult year for a lot of people. My family faced a lot but I have learned so many valuable lessons. One of my greatest takeaways from a decade of highs and lows has been that it’s okay not to always be okay. I have lived with the mentality for so long that “faking fine” would make me strong and carry me through. The truth is, pretending to not be broken only breaks you more.

I tend to only share the highlights, as most people do but the truth is- sometimes the “behind the scenes” hurts.

Though there have been mountaintop moments this decade like graduating, getting married, traveling the world and other incredible things, more often than I’d like to admit, I have stumbled my way through valleys. Maybe you have too. And that’s okay. Cherish the good moments and victories and know that painful seasons come but they don’t last forever. If you are in a tough place, I promise you, there is hope on the other side of whatever you are going through. I’m in your corner cheering you on.

I heard a song the other day that reminded me of this concept. “He is moving with a love so deep. Hallelujah for the victory. Good things are coming even when we can’t see…”

So whether you had the best year and decade of your life or if it has been unbearably hard, please keep your head up and remember good things are coming.

Don’t be afraid of the clean slate- let God fill it and you will be amazed.

Something I kept feeling over and over was a sense of new beginnings. Not only are His mercies new every morning, but they are also fresh every new year.

It’s a new season, it’s a new year and it’s a new decade. The best is yet to come.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” Zechariah 4:10

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 just recently married her best friend and together they are serving at The Pentecostals of Cooper City in South Florida.