I recently asked my kids what they would like to do in the New Year that they have never done before. My 8 year old daughter would love to plant a garden in our new home. My six year old son wishes to stop crying. While my three year old son, simply wants to keep playing. Their hopes and impediments, depict how 2020 went down in my home. It was indeed a beautiful struggle. As we approach the start of 2021, my prayer for them and myself is that we stay focused on what really matters to us. That and the power and gift of struggling eloquently.

I share this because there is a video circulating via WhatsApp that depicts famous Nigerian pastors praying at the start of 2020 that their congregations may know blessings, abundance, plentiful grace, with unstoppable victory. I am paraphrasing but their prayers were the typical great prayers you hear at the start of a new year. You will read so many of them in the next 24-48 hours. As I watched the video, I was perplexed as to how none of the pastors saw a pandemic coming, a recession, closing of business, even homeschooling. None of them saw or prayed for the grace to bear whatever 2020 had in store, all it’s impediments and all it’s hope. No one prayed for folks to struggle eloquently in 2020. Yet we did. This was a tough year. An unexpectedly difficult year. But even it’s difficulties, every single struggle I encountered this year, was a test of my ability to struggle eloquently.

So as we kick off another New Year, while I would love to pray for abundance and blessings, plus plentiful grace and happiness, I would like to add to all that, may you also struggle beautifully. Keep normalizing struggle for the word also noted that when you are weak, when you are at your lowest point, he is strong. And if you know who your maker is, even if you pass through the deepest shadows of hell, he will be there. The truth is, you will pass through it. That’s why struggles are necessary. That and so you never forget that he will protect you as you pass through your struggle. The key is to pray for the grace to pass through all of it especially in the New Year. As you do, may your struggles, all of it, be as eloquent as you are.