I was challenged a few weeks ago at church by a message from our youth pastor, telling us to forget the past and look towards the future. He actually first had us take some quiet moments and reflect on this past year. Reflect on those memories of good and bad and laughter and sadness. And then he said, now forget what I just had you do because what I really want you to do is to forget the past. Don’t dwell in the past. Look towards the future. Look towards today. How are you going to be different? What is 2018 going to look like for you? What are you going to focus on?
We were given a card at the beginning of the service with a big blank space in the middle of it. He asked us to pull out that card and think of a word that we were going to try and focus on this year. Now, I don’t always like these kinds of exercises in church because sometimes nothing comes to me to write down and then I feel the pressure of writing something anyway. Or sometimes it seems too cheesy and think do I really need to do this? Or I write something down only to let it get lost in the depths of my purse, where it gets bent and crumpled and eventually thrown away and forgotten.
But this time, I felt challenged. I wanted to forget this past year and move forward. So many times, I get hung up on what’s happened in the past and it has been a stumbling block for me to move forward. So I stood there, in the midst of worshiping God, and knew what my word for 2018 was going to be. Brave. Be brave. 
So many times, I am hindered by not feeling good enough or holy enough to share the gospel with others. Or I take the easy road and just do what I’ve always done. But this year, I want to be brave. I want to be brave for Christ. Whatever that might look like. Maybe it’s being brave and writing more blogs like this. Maybe it’s volunteering more in ways that get me out of my comfort zone. Maybe it’s sharing Christ with my neighbors. Hopefully it’s all of those things.
What is your word for 2018? How are you going to move forward instead of focusing on the past? I pray that through the challenges and triumphs you will follow where God leads.
Kristina Zirschky
Admin of Systems and Communications
