Hello, Thursday Morning! It’s day sixteen of 2020. In our part of the country, it’s either raining or rain is on the way, according to the weather “seers.” Here, we’re still waiting for winter.

If you have 20-20 vision, your sight is perfect. You can see far into the distance, and read without cheaters. What a blessing! But, how well can you see into the future?

Often, our hindsight is much clearer than our foresight. What have I learned from the mistakes I made last year? Have I been able to overcome those mistakes, forgive myself and move forward?

Course correction is easy when I’m driving. I can pull over, figure out my route, and then turn around and head back if I need to. Sometimes, my phone’s GPS will tell me to “proceed to the route”. What does that mean exactly? I don’t know about you, but when that voice tells me to “proceed north” on a street, I have to pause. Which way is north?

And what about those areas of our country where phone service is interrupted? Suddenly, I’m thrown on the mercy of my sense of direction and I have to figure things out on my own. That’s when planning ahead is the most important. I know there will be times like that, so I should either download the directions and save the map on my phone or print it out and have a backup plan. Notice I said, “I should…” I don’t always do that.

In life, we need to have some form of advance planning and preparation. There will be route changes along the way. So, how can we be prepared for what life sends us?

Obedience matters. Prayer matters. Though we can’t see the future, He can.

Prayer positions us. It is our spiritual “GPS”.

Prayer is not just being religious. It’s not legalism. It’s a conversation with someone who loves you more than you can fathom.

Prayer is 20-20 vision.

January is a reset-month. It’s the dawn of a new year. God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Yes, that kind of renewal. A seed falls into the ground and dies, and out of that old last year seed, life renews.

We get a fresh start.

What will you do with your fresh new year?

DON’T MISS THIS! If you’re a writer living in or near Kentucky, make plans now to attend the Kentucky Christian Writers Conference in Elizabethtown, Kentucky (early-bird pricing ends March 1!). Bob Hostetler is our keynote speaker for Write the Vision 2020, June 18-20, 2020.