When we were celebrating the holidays with my sister and family in Folsom this year, we joined them for a Christmas Eve service. The sermon was laugh out loud funny, poignant, and insightful. The priest said his favorite line from the Christmas story was when the angel instructed Joseph to “fear not.” He talked about all the things he feared, including, ironically, public speaking, and he shared how comforting and inspiring this one little line was for him.

At the start of every new year, I feel an exciting sense of potential. Time stretches out before me - time to fulfill the intentions and goals I’ve set for myself, time to spend with my family, time to travel. But, as I grow older, I also feel a twinge of fear. Disaster, tragedy, illness can sneak up out of nowhere. I’ve been around long enough to see it happen. Could this be the year something pulls the rug out from under me? Maybe.

I’m not a deeply religious person. I don’t like the saying “everything happens for a reason.” I think it’s simplistic, and to be honest, sounds really callous to someone who is suffering. But I do believe that in the midst of our life experiences, when fear makes an appearance, we can choose to be present, choose love, choose hope.

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.”
— William Allen White