Sheesh! It's already New Year's Eve! Feels like I was just doing this last year. It's hard to imagine that the year is over, and yet that's what my calendar is telling me.
2009 has been an interesting year. I don't want to label it as a bad year per say, but it's definitely held its challenges. The year held some interesting financial challenges for our family as Tim's income was cut, severely taking out the option of my staying home with Mason for now. We faced surgery on Mason's ears and adenoids after chronic infections and health issues, which didn't help finances. You know how it goes, when it rains it pours. And of course there was always some sort of family drama somewhere to be flaring up, so in many ways the year has been difficult.
And if I look only at the challenges, it would be quite easy to say it was a "bad" year. When in fact, there were a lot of positive things to come out of all of the challenges. God's good like that, always working things out for good. Because of the scale backs and the cut backs, Tim and I grew closer in our relationship with God. We had to trust He would provide the money for the needs we had, because we could no longer put our trust in a bank account figure. We learned the importance of God's timing in situations as He showed His divine will when we felt impatient or unsure. We learned that God will always come through for us, no matter how bleak something seems or how trivial it might appear to someone else, He really does care for our individual needs. We cut back on all the unimportant things and invested our time and effort in what counts, and because of that we've grown.
This year held some wonderful changes as well. We switched churches, more out of need for change, than because of a problem, but it was a good choice. After a few weeks of hunting, we found that DC3 would be a good match for our family and our lives. The people there showed their slogan, "Real love, real people" is truly their heart, as they embraced us and welcomed us in. I started working in the 3 year old class at church, and while I was unsure about it, and have only done it a couple weeks, I felt an overwhelming love for the little ones in the class.
Mason's health has improved post surgery and we've been grateful for everyday of health he has. He's growing so much and so smart about so many things. It's a miracle to just watch him bloom. He was able to get into speech with a super kind therapist and she's helping him work through some struggles he has.
I could go on and on about saying goodbye to good friends and meeting new ones, job changes at work, etc. but it just comes down to for every tunnel there was a light and for every valley a hill. God showed Himself all the time. I didn't always look, and at times I didn't want to acknowledge, but God was there through it all.
I know all years aren't full of sorrows, and not every year will hold prosperity. Life happens in cycles and we need to learn and grow from each one to prepare for the next phase.
So goodbye 2009, welcome 2010. I don't know what the year will hold, but I know the One who holds it, and that's enough for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment