Permission to Begin

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Permission to Begin

Permission to Begin

Journaling Family

If you are reading this and you are tired, I want you to know that I see you. Last month asked a lot of us. It asked us to celebrate the quiet, invisible bravery of keeping faith when faith felt very small and very private.

And now Spring is here in the Southern hemisphere, even though your season might not be spring, wherever you are, take it from me, it’s a season of new beginnings. Start from where you are.

Seasons do not announce themselves with loud noises, they sneak up on you. You might notice a slightly warmer morning or a thought you might not have had in months.

This shifting is exactly what Isaiah 43:19 reminds us of:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”

Those first snippets of green is fragile, it needs protection. It can be crushed by an inner voice telling you not to get your hopes up. But listen carefully wherever you are, you survived a long winter when everything looked dead. This month, we are going to tend this new growth new season together. We will nurture a kind of faith that is brave enough to hope again.

What We Are Exploring This Month

Over the next four weeks, we are taking a walk together as journaling companions to discover what God is doing in your life right now.

  • Week 1: Waiting for Permission We look for small signs of new life stirring, trusting the beautiful promise of Song of Solomon 2:11-12: “See! The winter is past… Flowers appear on the earth.”
  • Week 2: Beneath the Desire. We dig beneath our longings to see what our soul actually needs, bringing our hearts to Psalm 37:4 to seek His desires for us.
  • Week 3: The Brave Beginning. Beginning is brave. We step into the unknown while holding onto Joshua 1:9, remembering to be strong and courageous because the Lord is with us.
  • Week 4: Tending the New. We learn to protect what is emerging. We become the gardener of our own hope so our souls may flourish like a “well-watered garden” (Isaiah 58:11).

Your Permission Slip

Before you open the first prompt, you have permission to:

  • Feel hopeful again without waiting for proof that it is safe.
  • Want something new without feeling like you are betraying your past.
  • Start before you feel completely ready.
  • Let the new thing be small, remembering Zechariah 4:10: “Do not despise these small beginnings.”
  • Change your mind about what you want.
  • Grieve what you are leaving behind as you step forward.
  • Be kind with yourself when fear shows up to protect you.
  • Believe that God has more to come for you yet.

A Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for the arrival of new seasons and the quiet ways You bring fresh life into our hearts. When we feel afraid to hope again, please remind us that You are always at work, painting new beginnings on the canvas of our lives even when we cannot yet see the full picture. Give us the courage to take small, faithful steps forward. Help us to nurture the fragile shoots of our desires, trusting that You will provide the exact light and living water our souls need to flourish. Bless this journaling space and every person reading these words as they begin again. Amen.

You are brave enough for this. Let’s begin.

With you in faith, Debbera