2024. A new year is ahead.
Twelve months — and 366 days (it’s a leap year!).
With the calendar turning to January, it can be a little like stepping into the fog of the unknown…
For all of my nature travels and beauty seeking in 2023, I think this moment in the fog on the Bush River in Maryland was one of my favorite memories. They definitely turned out to be my favorite photos!
Early in December, on a late afternoon hike, I was able to observe the fog roll in to this tributary on the Chesapeake Bay. Visibility decreased moment by moment, as I sat on the pier while Hunter explored the shoreline. If I sat still and stared intently enough, I could make out the silhouettes of seagulls and ducks enjoying the scenery too.
Realizing that night would fall quickly, Hunter and I rushed back through the woods and stopped by the water one last time at the trailhead. The fog had become so thick on the bay that I couldn’t see where the sky ended and the water began. It was a bit eerie and disarming — and also incredibly beautiful.
Despite my lack of ability to see, I felt an overwhelming sense of God’s peace and his care and protection amidst the fog. It’s amazing how stillness can restore the soul…!
What fog might you be experiencing as we enter in to the new year?
As advanced as we are with technology and now AI, a new year is a poignant reminder that we’re not in control as humans — and even when life seems secure, the reality is, each day is a step into the unknown, and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
We’ve all lived this in one way or another when you think back to January 1, 2020…
There’s so much that we CAN be responsible for: our health, habits, relationships, and work ethic.
Yet, the humble person has to admit that we have our limits.
Our lives are fragile and tomorrow is not promised…. every day, every new year contains a fogginess, the unknown. At least to our human understanding. With faith that God is truly in control, I can release my grip on expectations and trust that He is leading me through my uncertainty. Maybe these thoughts are not the cheery health and wellness inspiration that is popular at the new year… but I think the state of our souls cry out for truth and grace. There’s too much suffering that calls for honest hope. I pray for anyone reading this, that you can know that true security in God.
My December hike also reminded me to not be afraid of the fog. To not be afraid to look for beauty even when it’s not the “perfect conditions” we think will make a good hike, outing, photography opportunity, moment — or new year.
Even if life and my heart feels foggy, I am going to keep looking for beauty.
And I’m going to trust, that through my fog, God is leading and guiding. And as 2024 begins, I pray that for anyone who might read this and need a little hope too.
He’s in our fog, the unknown, and bringing us through.
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
Psalms 139:7-12
Here’s to the light, that will come with the dawn! Happy new year, friends, and thanks to everyone for reading in 2023. Here’s to 2024 from Hunter and me!
