Launching into a new year

We've launched into a new year with all its possibilities, a clean slate with pages still to be written upon.

When January arrives most of us begin to consider the changes we can make in ourselves, our homes, all aspects of our lives, in order to improve upon the past year. We seek to leave behind the trials and misfortunes of the past and chart a new and improved course. All this New Year's resolution making extends back into ancient times. People believed it necessary to put all evil spirits to rest to prevent them from tagging along into the new year. Pagan ceremonies involved beating drums, tooting horns, even fighting mock battles to dispel the evil spirits of the past year.

Our November gas bill was more than double the October one and December's was almost double that of November so Jim and I started the new year by making a trip to purchase a more efficient heating stove. Jim speculated that much of our heat was going up the stovepipe on the old model. After visiting a couple of stores we purchased a sleek stove with ceramic tiles designed to retain heat and a blower to propel it into the room. Jim also stopped to pick up some Kentucky Fried Chicken for our supper but I still chopped half an onion and added to the black-eyed peas I'd soaked overnight on the back of the stove. I cooked them and ate a couple of bowlsful along with my chicken. I'm not sure there's anything to that belief that eating them will bring prosperity in the coming year. I just like black-eyed peas and it's a good excuse to eat some!

Angela Stephens, a writer for The Arizona Republic, says that black-eyed peas were likely brought to America from western and northern Africa where they were a staple. Slaves brought the seeds and were allowed to plant them and a variety of greens on small garden plots near their cabins. Their popularity spread and now they've become a significant part of traditional Southern fare. The popular Hoppin' John, made of black-eyed peas and rice, is usually served on New Year's Day. Some say the name reflects a tradition of having the children hop once around the table before serving the dish. Others say it comes from the practice of calling people over to join in the feast, or to "Hop in, John."

In sorting through a folder full of writings dealing with this time of year I came across a booklet of poems and greetings published by W. A. Wilde Company in 1909. From this, "A Little Book of New Year's Wishes", tied with a strand of bright red yarn, comes a reflection on "The Spirit of the New Year" by Edwin Osgood Grover. He writes, "I wish you joy on this New Year's day, joy of new beginnings, of high expectations, of renewed faith in the things to be. May the spirit of the New Year go with you through all its days, and bring you many sweet surprises, many hopes realized, many dreams come true. If disappointments or sorrows or apparent failures come to make you sad, may you not spend God's time in mourning but go on your way rejoicing in His many blessings, counting them over and over, like the little child counting stars -- always beginning but never ending."

Everyone looks forward to a new year and the hope it represents. Greetings come to us from many sources wanting us to reap a harvest of joy and happiness, peace and prosperity. A "good new year" is a universal desire, it seems. But life continues to throw obstacles into our path. We all have our share of burdens to bear and sorrows to deal with. Only a little over a week ago we were gathered to celebrate the life of a young wife and mother, struck down by a deadly disease at the tender age of 40. So how, we ask, can we have a happy new year?

A recent Seeds of Hope column suggests the answer comes from Isaiah 41:10. The first part of the verse reads: "Do not be afraid for I am with you. Do not be anxious, for I am your God. I will fortify you, yes, I will help you." We will continue to have unanswered questions about why life is so cruel. Fear and dismay will disturb our minds, trouble our souls and destroy our health. Only as we place our faith in the goodness and grace of God will our fears evaporate and dismay vanish.

The columnist sums it up this way: "Our God is always with us and we are never beyond His reach. When problems arise He wants to solve them. When needs arise He will meet them. When foes would destroy us He will conquer them. When storms appear He will calm them."

The conclusion tells us that if we want 2014 to be a Happy New Year we must begin every day of every week of every month of the year reading God's Word and spending time in prayer.

Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong resident of Benton County. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 01/08/2014