I looked out the window as pine trees flew by. I leaned my head against it and sighed. My heart continued to sink as I thought more about my week. I didn’t receive a job I had been hoping for and my plans for graduation from university were non-existent. Before we left for this seaside vacation, I had spent hours on Google, searching for my next move. It was a daunting task, one that seemed to have no hope.

As the ocean came into view, I rolled down the window and smelled the fresh salted wind. My spirits lifted as I watched the waves roll over the sand. Any imperfections or indents in the sand disappeared as the water washed them away. It had been a hard week, but just as the waves were cleaning the beach, I was entering a new week, with an opportunity to begin anew and hope in the future.

Every January the waves roll over the sand and we get a new year, a clean slate—a new beginning that brings a new hope. That day on the beach I thought about my future and realized my life is a gift from God, just as each new year is a gift from God.

In Matthew 6:25-26 Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” God gives us all we need and blesses us with the desires of our heart. God is the giver of the new year.

In order to begin the year in a right heart, I like to remember how God has provided for me this past year, thank him for the past, and surrender the future up to him. God knows what will happen this year, and I try to acknowledge that and trust in him.

As the waves wipe away 2011 and we head into 2012, remember God wants to bless you this year. Remember who gave you this blessing of another year and thank him for it, as you head into the future.