Breathe out the past

The end of another year has given us the opportunity to let go of the past with its trials as well as its triumphs, writes Eric Gaudion.

Letting the past go does not mean losing its lessons or the sweet memories of better days. Nor does it mean ignoring its place in the story of our lives.

Rather, we turn away from the past with our faces lit and warmed by the sunshine of hope. Each New Year is an opportunity to start again, to turn the page, smoothing it down with compassion and choosing to say “God is in charge” as we start writing a new chapter. It gives us the opportunity to put away the problems and sorrows of the past year. It is an annual reminder that we are constantly being changed to conform to the image of Christ.

Yet I am keenly aware that for some this is not an easy thing to do. Many are in pain of all kinds and for some 2024 was a really tough year.

New Year is certainly not everybody’s favourite festival! Mark Twain had no time for this season, despising it as “a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, friendly calls and humbug resolutions.”

Well, I for one think he was wrong – about the resolutions at least. I have set my goals for this year with the usual hopeful attitude of the child at school who is given a brand-new exercise book to make his or her mark on.

… story continues