A New Year, 2023!

A new year comes with so much promise! It’s like stepping out after heavy rainfall. Everything is clean, wet, and bursting with the promise of a new day. There’s much hope for better things to come. New energy to pursue purpose and do exploits. For many people, this zeal wanes by February, when they are confronted with real life and the difficulties it brings.

I entered this new year with a lot of skepticism. I knew a new year was approaching but somehow felt this was a year in which the baton exchange was going to be gradual, in the sense that I started entering 2023 while still in December 2022. For me, it was a gradual experience, but more complete. I knew that 2022 was leaving and it would never return. I also knew that 2023 would come with its own demands and I needed to be ready, equipped, and strengthened to move into it.

I was so involved in my own process that I did not experience the usual excitement of the crossover night. When people were shouting “Happy New Year”, I joined in only perfunctorily because I knew this was a heavy year. The year had weight. And I needed to be heavy to carry it. At that time, I felt lightweight. Unable and unprepared. Two weeks down the road, the feeling persists, but I am getting some clarity now. I am still lightweight, but I hooked myself up to the Weight of the universe, the Father God Himself. This way, I feel secure that He will carry me, and everything else that I need to carry this year.

For Nigerians reading this, we are at the cusp of history. So much is at stake with the coming elections. Many Christians have been praying, and everyone is waiting in anticipation of what the outcome will be. Many prophecies here and there. We wait expectantly.

The entire world is heaving and shaking. The Russia-Ukraine war is still raging with its side effects affecting the entire world. Food shortages, weather events, inflation, etc. Economies are struggling and people are strung up. Covid-19 is having a comeback in China. There is much to chew on all over the world. Nobody is smiling.

Welcome to 2023. What is your story now? What do you want your story to be? Remember, you need to take your life into your hands and be intentional about building the year you want to see. You may not get everything right, but you will make substantial progress better than sitting on your hands. The Faithful One is with you. He will guide, and He will bless.

Have a wonderful year!