The Gate of the Year.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

(By Minnie Louise Haskins… quoted by King George VI in his 1939 Christmas broadcast.)

I said to the man… For some 2021 has been tough, difficult, sad… Walking through the gate into 2022 I seek wise advice…

‘Give me a light…’ I want light to shine into the unknown. There are so many uncertainties – roots to trip over, holes to fall in, wild animals approaching… I want to see where I’m going. I want to avoid hazards and stay safe.

‘Go out into the darkness…’ The gate-man says that I don’t need light; safety is found by holding God’s hand. In the past I have seen the hazards and still tripped or fallen. Past experiences tell me that I’m safest not when I can see where I am going, but when I’m near my Father-God.

‘So I went forth…’ I go into 2022 one step at a time. A New Year’s Resolution? To ‘find the hand of God’ so I can walk with him. I then embrace the unknown darkness not with fear of danger but with confidence and hope.

‘And he led me…’ Travelling with God I don’t make all decisions for the journey alone… I can’t see the steep slopes I must climb or the valleys I must pass through…

In Lowestoft we see the sunrise over the sea as each morning dawns… I’ll take the gate-man’s wise advice. I’ll walk with my God and trust him.