My husband and I became foster parents in 2014. Since then, we have had ever-changing family photos. I will forever have holes in my heart because of the absence of the kids we have fostered for a week, a month, or longer, who have called me “Mom.”

Perhaps you find yourself in a desert place. Perhaps you feel disconnected. Perhaps you are connected but are experiencing no life that is truly life.

It’s a new year. If God wanted to do a new thing in you or around you this year, would you see it or would you miss it? Isaiah 43:19 teaches us how to spot one of God’s new things. “Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”

Freedom. I’m not sure how that word strikes you. Perhaps it’s a reminder to pause and take a deep breath before tackling the rest of your day. Maybe it’s elusive—a word you’ve heard all your life and have longed to fully grasp. Hearing the word freedom may even cause you some fear since it means to surrender and surrender can be scary.