Happy New Year! 2026, wow, another new year is upon us, and we stand at the threshold of a new year with new possibilities, new adventures, and new goals and aspirations.
But what if those new goals or aspirations don’t come to fruition? Sometimes life doesn’t go just as we planned it, right?
We will face new challenges or have to go down roads we never dreamed of. And none of us knows exactly what this year will hold. Which mountain tops or valleys will come? Who we will meet or who we might possibly lose. Which door will close, or which one will open? We could go on and on with quirky quip after another.
Mary knew all too well about having a change of plans, didn’t she?
A teenage girl who was engaged to be married, and her plans probably were to get married and have a family, and live a peaceful life within the comforts of her current circumstances. That's not what God had in store for her. She would be visited by the angel of the Lord to be informed that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world! Talk about a change of plans! I'm sure she had allowed for some variations in her plans, but not to this extent. But how did she respond? In obedience and in faith: Luke 1:38; " And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to thy word."
Even in the midst of everything going on in her life, she still responded with faith, and she acted accordingly.
Whether we know the exact plans or not, we must trust and submit to God’s calling in our lives in faith.
May we have the same attitude as Mary this year; Father, may your will be done in my life, even if it's not what I planned for my life.
I trust you.