Meditate at Eight: Ponderings

(from Pastor Robinson, of IN)

I read on an obscure post this morning that pineapple is considered lucky on New Year's Eve. I knew about cabbage and noodles, but not pineapple. So, I did a little more digging and found a cornucopia of options (not sure if that's the right word): fish for abundance, pork for progress, greens for wealth, lentils and black-eyed peas for luck, grapes, and even cornbread. Alas, nachos and pizza aren't on any list I could find.

It’s a charming tradition, as long as not taken to a superstitious extreme. A little funny. Perhaps a little desperate. As if the right menu might tilt the odds in our favor and protect us from whatever the next twelve months may bring.

Scripture doesn't put much stock in lucky charms: edible or otherwise. It never suggests that prosperity comes from what we consume on one particular night. Instead, it consistently points us toward how we live and who we depend upon.

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3).

The wisdom of Scripture invites us to start the year not with superstition, but with a review of the heart.

Jesus once reminded his followers that life is not found in what goes into us, but in what comes out of us—our words, our choices, our love (see Matthew 15:11). If Scripture offers us any advice for beginning a new year, it might be this: start hungry—but hungry for the right things.

Hungry for wisdom.

Hungry for mercy.

Hungry for justice, kindness, and humility.

Hungry for God’s love expressed through our words and actions.

So go ahead—eat the peas, the pork, and the greens if that's your thing. Enjoy the tradition. But as the clock strikes midnight, may our truest expectation rest not in what we’ve eaten, but in the God who goes before us into the unknown year ahead.

My 2026 prayer for Ridge and for all of us comes from Psalm 90:17: “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us.”

Prayer: Gracious God, as one year ends and another begins, set my heart on what truly gives life. Teach me to begin this year trusting you, seeking your wisdom, and walking in your grace. Amen.