By Chris Osa Nehikhare
*”Let’s smile not because we don’t have problems but because we are stronger than the problems…”*
I always thank God for the outgoing year and consciously commit the year ahead to Him.
I do not seek to know what the future holds; rather, I choose to walk into it deliberately — guided by faith, discipline, and careful execution of purpose, with God firmly by my side.
At the stroke of midnight, we lift our voices in gratitude. We thank God for the year — for its lessons, its victories, its trials, and its growth. We commit the incoming year fully into the hands of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, asking that the best moments of the outgone year become the benchmark for the least of the new year. I kiss my wife and hug my boys as we share a bottle of bubbli 🍾 and enjoy the fireworks display that lights up the sky.
We reach out across borders and time zones, calling — family and friends at home and in the diaspora — to share joy, laughter, prayers, and a loud, heartfelt “Happy New Year!”
Gratitude is shared. Hope is declared.
At about 3:00 a.m., the body rests — assured, peaceful, and thankful.
By noon on New Year’s Day, we gather as family, at the home of our Okaegbè, my father, Col D.E. Nehikhare (rtd) the Odionwere of Evboehighae — our annual ritual! We eat, we drink, we laugh, and above all, we thank God for carrying us through the year.
Together, we will make our demands of heaven for an even greater new year — one of sound health, clarity, impact, abundance and purpose fulfilled.
Same protocol.
Same faith.
Stronger resolve.
A new year, embraced with gratitude and intention.
Happy New Year to everyone!
“Let’s smile not because we don’t have problems but because we are stronger than the problems…”
