Reflecting...

At the verge of a “new year”… what will I make of it??? December 31, seems to always bring out some sort of self-reflection… how about in you?  The path I could see my life heading down a year ago is definitely not where I am now… love how God has His own idea, i.e. better plan, just around the corner, if we are willing to hear Him and follow!

 

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.  Psalms 18:2

There were many ups and downs in the past year, but I believe what I choose to reflect on will also set the stage for the next year.  Are you looking to “escape” from 2012?  Do you only see the bad things that you never want to see again?  Let me share a couple things that happened in my life this year… my mom has not been well for a couple years.  She spent multiple times in the hospital this year… 2 of which were in the “behavioral ward.”  I just kept praying for her and over her, along with many prayer warriors… at times it really felt like God had abandoned her, but deep down I knew that wasn’t true.  It really seemed like a nightmare at times, but I kept clinging to God’s faithfulness… His Promises.  My family went through this together… we knew no matter what happened God would be our strength to get through it!  This I would say would be a low point of my year… but without this low point I would never recognize the high point.  The high point and what I am going to reflect on… Within the last few weeks my mom has made a miraculous turnaround… my sisters and I had gone through the last year not really having our mom, but now God has given her back to us! Lessons can be so hard to learn but when you come out on the other side… it is so sweet! 

Another thing that occurred in the past year… my dad was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  Even through this diagnosis God had His hand print all over it!  First of all, they diagnosed the cancer before Dad really had any symptoms! Secondly, God had brought an incredible doctor into the picture because of my mom’s illness… this doctor was the one who caught the cancer before symptoms started! With all that my dad had been dealing with regarding my mom… God gave him such peace… if Daddy was worried about it, I never saw it.  Dad went through a month of radiation treatments without any real complications.  Through all this there have been lives touched… all the glory goes to God!  But without the low point of cancer there would never be the high point of a cancer-free biopsy report a week before Christmas!

I don’t share any of this to show you that my life is anymore special than anyone else’s, but to encourage you that even though none of us want to have the down moments of life… it is through those low times we can experience the up moments!  If life was always the same… would we even recognize the miracles God is doing in us and through us?  I ask you to take a few moments and ask God to shine His light on those special moments of 2012 in your life… then give Him all the praise He so deserves!  Maybe you are not on the other side of your down time… praise Him and thank Him in advance for Who He is and what you know He is doing!

Praying a blessedly prosperous New Year for you!

Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters,
“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

Rejoicing in Truth!