Happy New Year! I really enjoyed the Overcoming Loneliness sessions over the holidays, and I am so glad I was able to connect with people who were not only local but also people from outside of Georgia and globally. We discussed how we’ve been affected by loneliness and how we can work through any difficulties that we may experience. People were helped and I thank God for leading me to gather people in the 'room.' The impact was so moving that I plan to host monthly 30 minute Meet Ups starting soon. Check back for the dates and times, and get ready to pull up a chair. For this month, the focus is on taking flight and resilience. I remember a passage in my book on page 12 that prompted me to choose this month's focus: “My disruption was a failed marriage. Although I initiated the divorce, the process was still devastating. I could’ve allowed that low period to define the rest of my life.” Unfortunately our unprecedented disruption is COVID-19. None of us woke up last March expecting a global pandemic which would devastate the lives of millions and almost upend the economy. We can look back on enormous challenges, failures and pain from last year--but we have to allow ourselves to think about things differently. Maya Angelou said 'if you don’t like something change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.' It is impossible to change anything that happened in 2020 or any other time. No matter how hard we try, we can’t undo anything that took place. We do have the opportunity to start anew. I share in my book about the day I chose to leave emotional abuse and start anew. The Bible says God’s mercies are new every morning. Because we are alive God has something for us to do. Prepare to take flight and move forward. You survived. You have the resilience to keep going and thrive. This is a new year and there are new opportunities ahead. I'm praying for you!