HOPE for  2021
MESSAGE FROM  NACFM PRESIDENT GARY ROBINSON

It has been decades since I have felt this much anticipation for a new year. I remember wanting 1971 to get here ASAP. That was the year I would turn 16 and get my driver's license. I couldn’t wait to be on the open road and feel that freedom. The circumstances are certainly different this time. Today, my desire to start 2021 is based more on my longing to see 2020 come to a quick end. I will not miss 2020 and feel no nostalgia for the last twelve months.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

I am excited to see what new things God has in store for us in 2021. I am just as eager to leave the past behind. Putting the past behind us has practical applications, as well as spiritual ones. Here are a few thoughts on looking forward.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” - Albert Einstein

“There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” - C.S. Lewis

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” - Benjamin Franklin

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” - C.S. Lewis

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” - William E. Vaughan

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” - George Eliot

The world we live in today does not foster hope in the future. Many of our friends, neighbors, and family members are hurting and weary. Countless people around the world are mourning losses in their lives. We all know someone who has lost a loved one, a job, their health or the will to continue. Reach out to those hurting in your sphere of influence. Encourage them and pray for them. Share the source of your strength with them, Christ Jesus.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” - Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)

Lord, give strength to the weary and hope to the hurting. Renew our love for others. May the warmth of your love shine through us like a beacon in the darkness. Help us to put aside anxiety about the future and the past, so that we might live in peace with you now, one day at a time. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Happy New Year!

Gary Robinson 
NACFM President