This is the first Sunday after Christmas and the Sunday before New Years. It is just three days before the birth of the new year. Visual images of that holiday picture the old year as an ancient man and the new year as a diapered baby. How much will be different in the New Year? January 1, 2025, will not look much different than December 31, 2024. When I was a child on my birthday some adult always asked me, “Do you feel any older? ” I never quite knew how to answer. I never felt any different than I had the day before, but by the question it seemed like I should feel different, somehow. One day to the next can seem much the same, at least until something larger comes in sight. No doubt, the new year will present different challenges. Some may be good and others may be quite difficult. There will always be surprises in the New Year. As we review 2024, we will always note the changes. God will not be surprised by what happens, but we will be. That may be why we pray for a good year ahead. We put our trust in God, that he will see us through the New Year 2025, as he has kept us in the past. There will be challenges but there will also be blessings. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, for the Lord is good and his mercy is everlasting.”