Exiting To A New Beginning
by Michael Doyle

The alpha and the omega
The beginning and the end
Life's alpha and its omega
Laid bare at the year's beginning and end

God breathes our lives into motion
Whatever the season's emotions
We aim to begin and finish strong
As the church's family remaining strong

We live as one within one community
Within the truth of our sacred family
Walking our story in relationship
As we live out our ultimate worship

Glasses half full or seen as half empty
The outlook depends on our desire to be happy
It is a matter of the blind gaining sight
The realization of spiritual blindness turned right

Spiritual faith comes to heal the wounds of division
As we learn to remain anchored with greater precision
We must stick to principles that are Biblical
As 2024 become increasingly even overly political

We learn it's okay to struggle without hesitation
That as life presses on, it's alright to question
Even Habakkuk ventured into complaints he had to voice
Finding the courage to ask these was the right choice

Promptings and principles touch the depth of our hearts
They have done so since the soul's search from the start
This is the way of God's promises throughout our days
We see this openly if we study and keep a steady gaze

Keeping focus without falling into vapid distraction
Despite how the world's negativity has its attraction
We keep watchful eyes as the world and Word unwrap
Every word in every sentence approach and quietly tap

Us on our shoulders, we carefully decipher the full story
Watching before our eyes, God walks revealing His glory
We press forward into understanding our watchful stand
Until we can follow the meaningful ways of God's commands

Through this struggle we learn to find our way
Each of us walking life as we live through our own days
Watching, looking, and seeking after what God will say
Following in the shadow and light of God's walk in our days

God's traces are sometimes something untraceable
But the paths He gives us to travel are irreplaceable
As we watch from the chosen ramparts of higher elevation
With the good, true, and noble holding our fascination

God honoring in the way we choose to begin our preparations
Keeping earnest and holy, reflective on our holy destination
At first sipping milk and taking tiny baby-step stumbles
We are well-served when we push on past our grumbles

Even in good weather, we keep our eyes on the storms ahead
Being alert, and rooted, we are contemplative without dread
Knowing that we must keep our eyes toward glory and dreams
And not on yesterday's memories, however it seems

Through the fears we've lived and found to be naught but waste
We must keep our eyes open refusing to make judgment in haste
We have learned to keep confident and cautiously with optimism
We learn to walk at last toward our course without pessimism

And now, here it is that, we stand on the precipice of 2024
Brightly alert to keeping our focus on what tomorrow is for
Quietly we confidently tap on this side of Janus' opening door
And we know that we are ready with hope for tomorrow's more

(c) December 31, 2023   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved