My New Year's Prayer!

To Jesus:
Whatever You have in store for me today or tomorrow or next year, I pray I'll always say yes to You. I never want to stray from the closeness we have now. I never want to feel distant from You.

So as You gently lead me by the hand, walking me through Your celestial palace, showing me new rooms and things that I've never seen, I will try to hold tight to Your hand. I will try to take pleasure in the new gifts that You show me in each room, even if I don't understand how they work, or if they look strange to me.

Jesus, You're so generous, pouring gifts on me. I know that You will never give me anything that will harm me or that will bring hopeless despair into my life. Even if it costs a little to accept different gifts from You, I want to pay whatever price is necessary, because I want to have what You want to give me.

I don't want to say no to any of Your gifts, but I want to explore each one with You. I want to delight in each one, to learn to love and cherish each gift. In so doing, I'll learn to know You more deeply as I come to understand Your heart. Because what I really want most of all--more than Your blessings, more than Your gifts, even more than the peace that I feel when I am close to You--is You.

From Jesus:
You are Mine and you cannot be lost to My love. You can never be despised by Me. You never slip out of My presence for a moment. You are never abandoned for a split second. There's never a moment that I am not continually aware of you. There is never a fraction of a second that I am not caring for you. There is never a thought in My heart that is unloving toward you. You are Mine forever, My child whom I love and for whom I would give My life endless times.