I wrote that sentence down a while ago but saw it again today and thought, as the new year looms, as the list of things I am dreading grows, now is the time to think about affirmation and promise. Shake off apprehension and welcome anticipation of good things.

There is something I need to move away from; it’s that feeling my past life was the one where I achieved things and now I have nothing left. That’s rubbish, and if you feel like that too, turn away from it. To start every year, every season, every day, expecting to be pleasantly surprised, that is the way to live. Don’t be an Eeyore, be Piglet, happy to be safe and close beside a good friend  Don’t say ‘I knew that would happen’, say ‘I didn’t expect that and it’s brilliant’. You never know.

When you are counting down to the new year, imagine you are on the threshold of the next part of your life and it.  is.  good. It will be different to before, but let your imagination point you to new things, different ways to live. There is a barrier at the end of my street, but it could be a gateway to something good. I’ll tell you soon.

So, if all you see is darkness when you contemplate the future, push through that dark cloud and welcome whatever is beyond it. Fear feeds fear, but if you let it in, you can discover unending joy. So I tell you, whatever you’ve been told, however many lies your head is speaking into your life, you have a hope, you have a future. It’s up to you to take it. God is there to help.