On this final day of the year, we stand at a sacred threshold between what has been and what will be. God's command through Isaiah is clear: "Remember ye not the former things." This is not a call to forget lessons learned, but to release the grip of past hurts, failures, and disappointments that hold us captive. We cannot step freely into God's new thing while dragging the chains of yesterday's resentments and wounds. Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door to fresh beginnings. Bitterness keeps us imprisoned in the past; grace sets us free to embrace the future.

In 1994, twenty-two-year-old Immaculée Ilibagiza hid for ninety-one days in a tiny bathroom in Rwanda while genocidal violence raged outside. She and seven other women crammed into a space just three feet by four feet as machete-wielding killers searched for them, sometimes standing inches from the hidden door. During those endless hours of terror, Immaculée lost her mother, father, and two brothers—her entire family murdered by neighbors she had known. Hatred began destroying her from within, but clutching the rosary her father had given her, she made a choice: she chose to forgive. Not because the killers deserved it, but because she could not carry the weight of hatred into whatever life remained. When she finally emerged, weighing just sixty-five pounds, she came face to face with one of the men who had killed her family. Through tears, she spoke impossible words: "I forgive you." That forgiveness freed her soul to live again.

Today, as this year ends, God asks: Will you release what was, so you can receive what will be? The year behind may have brought betrayal, loss, or deep wounds. Perhaps someone hurt you and never apologized. Perhaps guilt still haunts you. But tonight you have a choice—carry those burdens into 2026, or lay them at the cross and walk away free. Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a decision. It does not mean forgetting or pretending the hurt never happened. It means releasing your right to revenge and trusting God for justice and healing. When you forgive others, you free yourself. When you receive God's forgiveness, you step out of condemnation into grace. Let this final day be a day of release. Name the hurts, the failures, the disappointments—then leave them in the dying year. Tomorrow brings new mercies. Tonight, let the old things pass away.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, as this year ends, I release every hurt, every disappointment, every failure into Your hands. I choose to forgive those who wounded me, and I receive Your forgiveness for my sins. Help me let go of the past so I can embrace the future You have prepared. Do a new thing in my life, Lord. I step into the new year free, forgiven, and ready. Amen.