When I open my calendar to the New Year, nothing magical will happen, my problems will not have disappeared. But because it’s a new year, it’s like I have another chance to begin again. I’m actually writing the story of my life, not for a book that someone will read, but hour by hour, day by day, I’m living my story.

Every day of my life is important to God because He birthed me into this world with a purpose and a plan. He arranged for me to be where I am in this very year, on the street where I live, in the church I attend, and in the company of friends and acquaintances. And all the while I am writing on the blank slate that God gave me, I am telling my story, choice by choice, step by step.

Often, I’ve been influenced by books I’ve read or movies I’ve watched. On Christmas day our family watched “It’s a Wonderful Life.” We’ve seen it so many times, but the message is always new again. The main character, George Bailey, (Jimmy Stewart) is threatened with bankruptcy and time in jail.

He despairs of what he has made of his life and attempts suicide on Christmas Eve. In the fictional story, George has been assigned an angel, who intervenes. Clarence, the angel prevents disaster and allows George to see how much worse the world would have been if he was never born.

As I watched the happy ending of the movie, I began examining my own life and the effect it might have had on others. I remembered many things I should have done differently. I made a lot of mistakes. I missed opportunities to do good, I spoke words I should not have spoken, wasted valuable time, and the list goes on……

But the happy thing about a New Year is the thought that I have a chance to start over. I can make the choice to leave the past behind. I recently read a book by Rashawn Copeland, titled “Start Where You Are.” He says God meets you in your mess, loves you through it, and leads you out of it.” He adds, “You were made to be blessed by God and sent to bless others.”

This insight came to Copeland after a close call with suicide. He writes, “I walk down the hall, get the gun, and walk back to my bedroom. No one else is home, no one will stop me. I put the gun barrel in my mouth. I take it out again. I reach for my phone, and Facebook is the only app I see. I absentmindedly click on, and there it is, the post that saves my life.”

He explains, “I only followed one Christian on Facebook. Her name was Genessis, and I’d met her once at a party. Now, she was speaking powerfully through a Facebook post in my darkest hour. The scripture she had posted spoke to my heart. I read it again and again. I forgot all about the gun. I fell onto my face before God.”

Copeland says, “Within days of my conversion, I returned home with nothing but a heart full of new possibilities. I didn’t know where I was going but I knew where to start: right where I was.”

In the troubles of our past year, we have fallen on our faces before God. I believe that He is meeting us in the middle of the mess. He will love us through it, lead us out of it, and He will help us write better stories in 2021.

Virginia Dawkins is the author of “Please, God, Help!” and “Stepping Stones: Steps from Shackles to Freedom.” Both are available at Amazon.