itsawonderfilledlife

What I didn’t know a year ago …

The events and happenings and changes that I simply could not have imagined a year ago today.

I think I had thought, in the past, that walking into a new year is like having the double doors open to a large room, but, as I look at this year and all that I could not have imagined, I think it might be more like having hiked up a mountain (a generous description of 2021), only to stand at the precipice unable to see the bottom.

I look at the events of this past year in our own lives and how much we were unaware of, one year ago.

We moved … not just house but whole community. We experienced changes in employment, health, finances, relationships. Things we could not have seen from the high point of a New Years Day. Things that might have had us wondering about leaping into that new year.

I bet I am not alone in this.

There was a moment a couple of months ago, when something unexpected happened. I think if it had happened on January 1, 2021 it might have crushed me/us. But, we had experienced years of surprises (good and bad) and we had to relearn to put our trust in God alone.

So,

when this unexpected surprise was placed in our laps,

my first reaction was

to shrug my shoulders,

to lift my eyes up,

and speak,

out loud,

ok God,

so what are you gonna do with that?

And I realized something … I realized something important, something new … I didn’t let the problem land on my shoulders, not even for a moment … for I knew that God has a plan and He already has a solution. And, even if His solution were to cause discomfort, pain … He won’t leave us alone, but will be with us every step of the way.

The surprises of the last years, the moments of standing at the cliffs, wondering how far we will fall (and how intense the injuries that would be sustained) they have taught me … God has a plan, He is in control, we must rely on Him. That his mercies are new every morning. That He will not abandon us.

And so, as we sit down and look at this clean sheet of a new year …

As we plan and dream and set goals …

May our first goal be to awaken each day, with a fresh commitment to reliance on God.

So that, when the tough stuff happens (and … it will people), we already have the muscle memory to give it straight back to Him.

” … his mercies begin afresh each morning.
 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”
The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
    to those who search for him.”
Lamentations 3:23-25