I had so many aspirations for posting on my blog in 2016. I was going to start in January and be quite consistent. I even wrote out several posts, but never typed them.
Then, before I knew it, May had arrived and my blog still hadn’t been touched since December. Granted, I’ve been really busy with things… Still, it’s time I resurrected this silent, sad place. So, here’s my New Year post… Just five months and twenty-four days late.
What did I say last year, when writing about the Longest Year of My Life? That I wanted my year-end post to reflect the LORD and what He was doing in my life – and not just focus on myself.
I have commenced this post many times, only to tear it out of my notebook and toss it aside. The primary reason was that I couldn’t seem to get my focus right. It just kept coming back to me, not what the LORD was doing through, in, and around me.
Borrowing from John Bunyan, I have called 2015 my climb up Mount Difficulty. Much like Christian, who, as he trudged over rocks and avoided cliffs, began focusing on his trials and the weariness that he felt, I have wanted to focus on the circumstances and trials that made this last year so difficult. Even when my rocks were silver and the cliffs showed sparkles of gold, I wanted to notice the rough edges or the scrapes and bruises that I’d accumulated.
Still, the LORD is gracious. He keeps reminding me and convicting me of the importance of praise and focus on Him. All year, He kept reminding me, and while I often failed, the LORD kept pushing me toward giving those shouts of praise, while I struggled on.
So, as a belated good-buy to 2015, here are a few works of the LORD from those twelve-months:
-I became a sister-in-law, when my younger sister, Bethany, got married in May.
-I am an auntie! And I have the chance of sharing my birthday with my nephew or niece. We’ll see. (As of this month, I have the most precious little niece outside her mama’s tummy. No, we didn’t share a birthday, but it was close!)
-I typed, edited, and finally published 24 Days Before Christmas. I never would have finished without the LORD’s help. Certainly a project beyond my human abilities alone.
-I got to stay with the Marr family for three different visits, including around the birth of their little Susannah in March. Always a blessing.
-Lastly, the LORD brought me so far this year. I may expound in a later post, but it was in the later part of the year, when the LORD reminded me where He had brought me from in a year. Despite the trials and struggles of 2015, despite the climb up Mount Difficulty, I have come so far from what felt like the Valley of the Shadow of Death in much of 2014. The LORD has been so good to me. So good. I still have much to learn, I am still anything but perfect, but he has brought me so far! I stand amazed.
-Fear and trust. The LORD has convicted me much on these two. They’re opposites. Fear doesn’t allow trust. Trust kicks out of fear. Fear of man, life, circumstances. Trust in the God of the Universe.
Do I have any idea what this year will be like? No, not really. A move and the arrival of my nephew or niece. [Well… The move happened. Wow, that’s a long story in and of itself. My niece is here too! Still, I still have more than seven months that could bring all sorts of things.]
Prayerfully, I’ll grow closer to the LORD. I have a new book to write. And maybe some short stories or a serial. I could give into fear. There are several things that I could list, that could easily fill me with rather more apprehension.
Still, I’m learning. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
That last is what I’m doing. Committing this year to the LORD of Hosts. After all, He does know what He’s doing. He has my life in His hands. I can trust Him.
Maybe I’ll move beyond trust and actually get excited. Because, if the God who made the Universe is in charge of 2016, who knows what He has planned?
To the KING be all the glory!