"Two Thousand Twenty-two"

Finally, yes, finally,

The new year comes, it’s true,

And I’ve seen a lot of them,

Since nineteen fifty-two!

Again watched that old ball drop,

Way up in Yankee land,

And thought it sure looks cold up there,

With all those crowds and fans.

And me, I’m here in Texas,

Not one to party much,

But quietly and prayerfully,

You might say out of touch,

With lots of things that happen,

When a new year rolls around,

I’ve been where things are louder,

But here there’s not much sound.

’Cept the wind up in the cottonwoods,

And the horses as they graze,

The coyotes as they yip and howl,

Like on most nights and days.

It’s the sound of out there country,

And the Brazos as she flows,

And a calf when she’s a-bawlin’,

For her mama where grass grows.

And we sit right here together,

And I have her hand in mine,

And we pray for folks we care about,

No rush ‘cause there is time.

We bind ‘em to God’s will for them,

And loose them from what’s bad,

We pray the Lord will fill their hearts,

And set them free from sad.

We lift each one and call their name,

And pray God gives His best,

We think that it’s important,

And want them to be blessed.

Some miracle He wants to do,

May need somebody’s faith,

And we don’t want to let Him down,

Or make them have to wait.

And no, we can’t explain it,

It’s just something that we feel,

To greet the new year and each day,

With what we know is real.

And that’s the presence of the Lord,

In the quiet place we find,

We call upon His holy name,

He gives us peace of mind.

And, no, our life’s not perfect,

But more good than we can count,

Blessings overflow our hearts,

Can’t measure the amount.

We praise Him for the season,

The dawning of the year,

And because He’s with us,

We have nothing to fear.

Will you trust in Jesus,

He offers peace and rest,

The burden light, the easy yoke,

To follow Him, the best.

It’s here, two thousand twenty-two,

The words sound strange to me,

But placing it in Jesus’ hands,

Is just where it should be.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything…” (Philippians 4:6, NLT)

Here is it, plain and simple. Don’t worry. Pray. Yes, but…I know we all have our questions and excuses. But isn’t it true that when we pray about it rather than worry, we worry less. And isn’t it true that we experience God’s peace, even before we have any specific answer to our prayers. It seems that God has designed our communication with Him to be a means of receiving His grace. Tell Him what you need and thank Him for what He has done. In other words, lay it all out and thankfully trust Him to do what needs to be done. Rest in Him, and lay the anxiety aside. Surrender it to Him, and let the burden go. Trust Him with it and stop imagining worst case scenarios. Substitute the “what-if’s” for “He will.” Pray about everything, and leave nothing out. Then go do the next thing He shows you to do. The new year is here, a gift from the Lord. Let’s make 2022 the year we call upon the Lord as never before!

Lord, help us to worry about nothing and pray about everything, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bruce Greene, brucegreeneart.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bruce, and God bless you.