“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” Proverbs 4:18 NAS

In the soft quiet breathless landscape of a brand new year stands the vast array of paths yet taken. It is as if the world is covered in new fallen snow, and we get to decide where to place those first steps.

No matter what dashed hopes and challenges unmet the year gone by has dealt, we all tend to turn our head toward the first new days of the new, new year. The pioneer that lives in all of us rises in hope. It is a call to start again.

Pioneering is not for the faint of heart. Conquering new challenges, new realms, be they in our own pathway or in the community at large, plowing up that new ground must occur before there can be any lasting fruit that remains. In the case of the young, perhaps they are looking ahead to the new year, their eyes eagerly strain to see the path the Lord is bringing to their feet. What will they decide in this year? Where will they go? Who will they meet? What are they to do? Their spiritual ears strain to hear that Still, Small Voice saying: ‘This is the way, walk ye in it.” For those in the middle of full thrall living, their kids in school, jobs to do, lunches to pack, life together to live, it can seem as if one year simply tumbles into the next. The needs of others often crowd out their own needs. There is hardly a chance to take a breath, look around, and say, “Hello, Lord! Oh, How I need You! Speak, for your servant heareth!’

For those of us in the older, quieter season this becomes an exciting, albeit daunting time. Our hearts long for the adventure of pioneering even as our aging flesh whispers, ‘Willing, but weak.’ OH, praise God that our hearts can answer our flesh and say, “His strength is made perfect in my weakness.” Even in our weakness, yet we dream. We hope. We plan. We go on. Our path grows brighter and brighter.

What new pioneering path is your heart leaning toward in the gift of this new year, 2016? I, for one, am delighted to be alive and present in this year, whatever it may bring. My eyes strain, my heart leans, my ears listen: Speak, Lord. Your servant, heareth. Show me Your way. I will walk in it.

~ Debbie Ecker