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Bye, 2023. What a year it was, filled with joy and sadness. It was a memorable year with conflicts and crises, chaos and confusion, (peaceful) protests, prospects and possibilities.

Welcome 2024 with faith, hope, gratitude and optimism, realizing there are things you cannot control beyond your understanding and capabilities. With faith and conviction and a sense of responsibility towards yourself and others, you’re blessed. You become an asset, rather than a liability, to the community.

Have faith that your life and your world will be better. Believe that your condition will improve; changes and challenges be overcome with grace and certainty. Be grateful that you’re alive and well, living and loving, and trying to enjoy life, freedom and liberty.

Every day holds the promise of a new beginning. Hence, a new year could mean a new life, a new beginning, a fresh start at life, and a new attitude or perspective to consider. For as long as you have life, and your mind healthy, sound and sensible, you have the will and the power to do what it takes to do better and succeed.

You’ve decided to overcome whatever obstacles come your way. You’ve come to realize that change is inevitable in life and so are challenges. Therefore, you’ve decided to accept change and move on, challenging yourself to never give up. With hard work, optimism, perseverance and sacrifice, you eventually get better and succeed in life.

What’s in store for you and me in 2024? There will be challenges ahead and obstacles to face and overcome. But, of course, there will be opportunities along the way. And it’s up to you to grasp, grab, or let go of them.

Remember, though, that there will be commitment, communication, compromise, collaboration, cooperation, and companionship, like in love and marriage, politics and government, education and health care, business and management, leadership and governance, and any human endeavor or relationship that contributes to the betterment of humanity. 

There will be fake news and disinformation or misinformation. There will be education, miseducation, chaos and conflict, calmness, and compassion. In the end, the truth will come out. Peace and justice, law and order, and love prevail.

There will always be songs to sing, news, novels and books to read, stories to tell and share, music to enjoy and appreciate, and memories to cherish and keep.

There will be bold endeavors to undertake, decisions to make, and plans to implement, and laws to enforce, obey and observe.

With a new year, life goes on. For as long as you have life, there’s hope, light, and life. 

Pray, be grateful, faithful, hopeful, and optimistic with the new year. 

Trust in Jesus, the Prince of Peace, our Lord, Redeemer,  Messiah, and Savior. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding; In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path.”(Proverbs 3:5-6)

From my family to yours, have a blessed new year! Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Chris A. Quilpa, a retired U.S. Navy veteran, lives in Suffolk and Chesapeake. Email him at chris.a.quilpa@gmail.com.