I remember feeling like a fog swept into my brain sometime around November 1st and only began to dissipate in January. It was the year that the Christmas season officially did me in. Yes, I managed to have moments of clarity every now and then, but for the most part, I was on autopilot that year. No joy. No excitement. No yuletide cheer. Just me and what felt like a 742-step plan to make it through Christmas.

“One of these years I’ll figure out how to survive Christmas with grace,” I thought. But in that moment, do you know what I was most thankful for? Coming back. Back to a schedule. Back to clean eating. Back to work. Back to school for the kids. But mostly, coming back to God.

When I drift away, it’s not into alcoholism or atheism or other major “ism” that is obvious to the outside world. No, when I drift away, I drift more into apathy than anything else. I stop caring about reading my Bible. I stop feeling the urgency to pray. I don’t want to go to church. I don’t really care about anything anymore. Instead, every single relationship, feeling and thought gets reduced down to one melancholy goal: “To exist.”

Over time, praise God, the fog lifted. It was subtle at first, but I could feel God tugging at my heart. He was drawing me to Him, boldly declaring that the season of apathy was over as He breathed grace on the embers of my soul slowly restoring it to burning flames once again.

Have you ever had feelings like this? Do you want to come back to Him? Do you feel Him nudging you on like a current in a river? Do you hear His voice calling in the distance? Do you want to answer, but just aren’t sure how? If so, here are three simple things to remember:

1. Start from where you are

Acknowledge where you are. Admit to yourself and to God that you have drifted away, but don’t lament the “years that the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25) or wallow in regret. Your heart may be harder, your past may be darker, and your situation may be more desperate, but God has not changed. He is the same now as He was when you were walking hand-in-hand with Him.

2. Start small

There is momentum that comes after the first step. Take it. There is peace that comes after the first prayer. Pray it. There is encouragement that comes after the first Bible verse. Read it. There is joy that comes after the first song. Sing it. Do not try to undo a season of drifting in one single day. Today, just take that first step. The rest will come.

3. Start now

Do not hesitate. Do not procrastinate. Do not wait for your head to catch up to your heart. If you know you’re hearing God’s voice, respond. More time will only make it more difficult to come back to Him.

Aren’t you thankful for second chances? Don’t you love it when you can check off a less-than-stellar year and move on to the next one? I’m ready to come back. Who’s with me?