At the end of each year, we look forward with anticipation to the new year. The new year represents starting over again, putting away the old and embracing the new. Speaking prophetically, we tell ourselves "This is the year when everything falls into place, a year in which we will be successful, a year when life lines up exactly as we've always envisioned."

And in a sense this is true, for this is a year that has never yet existed. It arrives as a blank canvas. We can paint on the canvas of this new year in bold or muted colors, reds and greens or pinks and creams and even blues and blacks. We have all the raw materials to create a beautiful year.

The new year allows us the freedom to set aside the mistakes of the past and to move forward in a new direction, to break new ground. It allows us to let go of the past, to shrug off bitterness and despair, hatred and failure and to embrace joy and hope, love and success. It's a year to unleash our creativity. It can be a successful year if we understand that success is doing the will of God.

My prayer for you is that this year will be a good and successful year.

Happy New Year!

For His Cause,
Bishop H. Curtis Douglas