January Bible Reading Plan: New Beginnings in Your Grief

January is all about new beginnings. There’s something so motivating and refreshing about the start of a new year. So many new possibilities and the potential of something really great to happen.

However, when you’re facing new beginnings after losing your child, it can bring lots of different emotions. Are you excited to leave last year behind? Or maybe you’re dreading the start of a new year?

Whichever camp you fall in, know that God is with you. He will never leave you and he’s walking into this new year holding you in his hand.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
-Isaiah 43:19

A Prayer for January:

God, as I step into this new season, please hold me close and guide me gently forward. Help me to trust that You are at work, creating beauty in places that still feel broken. Grant me the courage to take the next small step, knowing You are with me every moment. Fill me with Your peace, and remind me that new beginnings are possible because You are faithful. In Jesus’ name, Amen

New Beginnings in Your Grief in January

It can feel like there’s no way out of your grief. When you’ve lost a child, it’s easy to believe that any chance of “beginning again” is lost forever. However, I want you to hear that still, small voice that Jesus is whispering into your broken heart…

New beginnings are still possible.

They don’t take away your pain or mean that you’re “forgetting”, it just means that you’re opening a door for hope to enter.

This hope is a reminder that each day carries the promise of healing and renewal.

As you step into a new beginning in your life, it doesn’t mean that you’re ignoring the past or pretending your loss never happened. It’s about carrying your precious child with you, allowing those memories to shape your journey forward – in ways that honor both your grief and your love.

With each small step forward, you’ll discover that Jesus has not left you and will never leave you. And he’s bringing healing to your heart, one piece at a time.

Here are a few practical ways you can embrace new beginnings in your grief:

1. Celebrate Small Victories: Every step you take in your healing journey is worth celebrating – no matter how big or small. Something as simple as making it to the end of the day needs to be celebrated.

2. Seek a Support Network: Finding community helps you realize you’re not walking this path alone. You can find this support in a friend who understands or a support group at your church.

3. Honor Your Child in Meaningful Ways: Light a candle, write a letter, or plant a tree in their memory. These acts can bring comfort while gently leading you forward.

4. Set Gentle Goals: Instead of big steps forward, focus on small, achievable steps that gently ease you toward healing. This could look like journaling once a week or reading a Psalm each morning.

5. Invite Jesus into Your Grief: Walk with Jesus. Lean on him. Let him carry you. As you continue taking these steps with him, he will pour out his love over your heart and pick up the broken pieces one at a time.

Reflection Questions

1. In what small ways have you noticed hope or healing in your grief?

2. How might you honor your child’s memory while allowing yourself the freedom to experience new beginnings?

3. What small victories can you celebrate from this past week, and how did they affect your outlook on the future?

4. Which friends, family members, or support groups can you lean on for encouragement, and what would it look like to open up to them about your journey?

5. How can you invite Jesus more fully into your grief, and what might change if you start sharing every worry and fear with Him?