January Starts in February

Written by Lawrence Yoo

I was talking to a friend the other day and he told me how his wife, his daughter, and he all have birthdays in January. Because they want to keep on celebrating and feasting, they have adopted the phrase, “January starts in February.” I mean, who wants to get started on diets and a new exercise plan when it’s time to party and eat cake? So, they extend the excess of Christmas a little longer and get started on resolutions when February rolls around.

I love that phrase, especially this year. I came into 2022 pumped for what God is going to do in the church and my own life. I had goals, resolutions, articles on how to keep resolutions, and podcasts on how to follow through with the articles! I was ready to jump in. But then came COVID. COVID knocked me out and delayed my start. Then came a winter storm that did more of the same. I felt like I couldn’t start anything. I was too sick, and it was too cold to run or workout, and I found myself stuck in the house where all I wanted to do was cook and eat. Plus, I couldn’t meet with others in person to share my hopes and prayers for this coming year.

Now in the midst of all this, I have a choice. I can let the circumstances knock me off my goals, or I can start now. January can start in February (or close to it). Isn’t that the beautiful thing about the gospel? No matter how far we’ve run off course, we can start anew. Whether it is because of decisions we’ve made, the actions of others, or negative circumstances beyond our control, we don’t have to despair because God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-24).

No matter what kind of start to your year you have experienced so far, I pray that you will feel God’s mercy and grace guiding you to a new day. Your January can start in February. Let us start anew, confident that God is with us, and he goes before us.