We made it through 2020, but the new year doesn't fix everything. As 2021 starts we may not be able to change our circumstances, but we can change our perspective!

We made it! We made it through 2020 and are clapping our hands at the start of a new year. However, I’ve been reminding myself that the turn of a calendar page won’t magically turn things around. That’s not how it works. The answer isn’t us in a new year but Christ in us.

This short blog post is for the moms who struggled through the past months with their eyes on the prize: January 1st! Now here we are only to find that nothing much has changed. Kids are still learning from a distance, Mommy and Me classes are still shut down, the children’s sports teams are still on hold, and our country is still… divided.

How do you start the new year off right when everything’s still wrong? Again, I think that the answer isn’t going to be found in new circumstances, but a new perspective.

God’s Word offers us this perspective during long, difficult seasons. In John 16:33 Jesus tells us, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Those words in your Bible are written in red! Jesus promises that we can overcome any hard challenges in this world because He overcame the world.

#perspective

Now what? What do we do to carry us through these seemingly endless hard times? And how exactly do we “overcome”? The answer is simple and yet so elusive some days. We are to fix our eyes on the One who fixes things. We overcome as we keep our eyes on The Overcomer. As our children struggle with loneliness and depression and math (or whatever it is that the struggle looks like for you today), you are invited to fix your eyes on Christ. As you struggle with loneliness and depression and (teaching them) math, you are invited to put your eyes on Christ. Fix your eyes on Him, because nothing else can fix things.

Escaping into social media, binge watching your favorite shows, and another cup of coffee with sweet creamer might give you a moment of reprieve and help you to feel good for a hot minute, but none of those things will help you to OVERCOME another twelves months. Only the One who overcame can do that!

God promises moms in Isaiah 26:3 that He will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are fixed on Him, because they trust Him. When our eyes are fixed on Him He fixes things. What’s more, when our trust is in Him His peace is in us.

No, the answer isn’t us in a new year or us grabbing a latte from Starbucks to get us through another hard afternoon. The answer is Christ in us!

What a privilege it is to model this overcoming life for our children during this on-going, difficult season!

If you need help fixing your eyes on Christ rather than on comfort food or anything else to get you through hard days and hard seasons, consider starting your year off with The 40 Day Sugar Fast. This community originally started for moms who were struggling through hard days with their kids. Every January we host a Sugar Fast for all women to join, but moms still come in droves... and discover each time that fasting from sugar helps them stay calm, kind, consistent, and even Christ-like with their kiddos.

Find out more at 40daysugarfast.com.

Love,

Wendy Speake
host of annual The 40 Day Sugar Fast