The New Year Awaits! Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

Writing this is natural.

As the year seeps to it's close,

reflection is easier.

What happened last year?

So many challenges, a gift from God?

 

Why did these things happen?

I have no answers to that question.

I only know that 2014 was a very difficult year.

I was challenged

mentally,

spiritually,

physically,

and

emotionally.

The challenges were some of the most difficult that I have ever faced.

Most of the year, I felt beaten up by circumstance.

Every time I rose, I felt the blows of life beating me back down, without mercy.

Even when I tried to crawl to a safe corner,

 there was no safety, only chaos.

There was no place to recover and restore my spirit.

Life does seek a balance.

Seek is the key word.

All was not lost.  I was not forsaken.  There were good times to celebrate.

There were times of joy, 

blessings from God,

that might not have always been visible to my inexperienced eye.

I found more strength than I could have ever imagined.

I found that good friends shared their love and their strength with me,

even when I was at my lowest, most fragile, most brittle,

and there were many of these days,

 I drew strength from these dear friends.

In the midst of the chaos and storms,

I felt the blessing of the cleansing waters cover me, nearly drowning me,

washing away my sorrows

even as the sharp, pointed drops pelted my body,

leaving me numb.

Sweet blessings poured over me.

The unexpected greeting from a small child in the form of a hug.

The kindness of a stranger helping me pick up what I had dropped.

The quiet of a friend who let me talk until I was exhausted.

Tears of joy and tears of peace.

Coaxed into laughter by those who cared, 

helping me to forget, momentarily,

the challenges.

When I stood, I stood strong.

When I wept, I wept without remorse.

The journey of 2014 was a journey I gladly leave behind me.

The good I take with me.

I don't know why.

I don't know how.

I only know that

I 

 Survived!

The path ahead is unknown,

 no matter,

that I welcome that which comes next.

Welcome,

2015!

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 

 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 

 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 

 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiasates 3:1-8