2020: The Year Ahead
My best and warmest thoughts to you.
Alistair Begg, a Bible-teaching minister, grew up in Great Britain and now lives in America. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
On January 3, 2020, he published Alistair Begg's New Year Letter for 2020 on his website blog. Here, he tells how his parents had the tradition of listening to Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas speeches. He continues to listen yearly like I put green and red ribbons on packages.
Below is a portion of that blog post. It’s beautiful and seems appropriate for the dawning of 2020.
...It is clear from the Queen’s words that she has a firm conviction about the important role played by the Christian faith in the ordering of society. Her father, King George VI (remember The King’s Speech?), held the same conviction. He delivered a memorable speech on Christmas Day 1939 to a British nation at war and fearful of what lay ahead. The King quoted a relatively unknown poem by a poet named Minnie Louise Haskins:
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
His speech concluded, “May that Almighty hand guide and uphold us all.” How good to think that the King of England called upon the King of heaven to hold his nation together through the darkness!
It reminds me of God’s word to His people in the face of opposition: “For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you’” (Isaiah 41:13). This is a further and necessary reminder that our times are in His hands and we can leave them safely there.
King George asked for a light. I don’t know if he read his Bible, but we can read ours knowing that God’s Word will be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path....
I thank you for understanding my departure from my typical writing. This just struck me as worthy, so I’m passing it on to you.
I thank you for likes, shares, comments, generosity, support in 2019.
Sincerely,
Pat Durmon
patdurmon.com
P.S. You'll find my four contemporary poetry books, Lights and Shadows in a Nursing Home; Push Mountain Road; Women, Resilient Women; and Blind Curves at Amazon.com. All purchases are gratefully appreciated!
Gate near Gassville, Arkansas. Photographed by Alex Jimerson from Harrison, Arkansas, January 2020.