I began last year with hopeful anticipation of what was to come: graduations, weddings, exciting career opportunities, etc. It was going to be the best year yet.

A few months in, as the cancellations and postponements and restrictions piled up, it became clear that my expectations needed to be thrown out the window. I sat with the disappointment that accompanied last year and mustered up a half-hearted prayer: Lord, set me free from my own plan.

He did not disappoint.

In today’s Second Reading, Saint Paul writes, “As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son” (Galatians 4:6-7).

Last year may not have given me the celebrations or social gatherings I was expecting, but, by the grace of God, it woke me up to the spirit of adoption met by the Father's fidelity.

Last year allowed me to be set free from my curated plans in place of the Lord’s love story. It freed me from the enslavement of expectation and allowed me to cry out “Abba, Father!” in the knowledge that my Father will not fail me.

My unmet expectations for last year enlightened my confidence that the Lord can and will always ransom us, even as a response to a half-hearted prayer.

Sister, as we step into this new year, let’s do so with the confidence given to us by the Lord Who says we are no longer slaves. Let’s live this year in freedom.

[bctt tweet="As we step into this new year, let’s do so with the confidence given to us by the Lord Who says we are no longer slaves. Let’s live this year in freedom. // Kelsey Dassance" username="blessedisshe__"]

listen to today’s devotion

Pray a decade of the Rosary today, offering your joyful trust like Our Lady for today's solemnity.