12/31/2013
WHAT A YEAR!
Honestly, since about April I have been wishing for the end of 2013. My lamenting continued as I headed to the shower way past my bedtime, after cleaning up the water in our basement. As I stood in the shower, the passage in Corinthians regarding the body of Christ entered my thoughts. “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with.” (I Corinthians 12:26). Hey don’t mock me for being inspired in the shower that is where God chose to work.
Yeah, 2013 had its challenges but I begun to feel thankful that I belong to the body of Christ. I am lucky to be surrounded by people who love and care about me. I was not alone in the challenges. People around me grieved with me. They offered me strength, courage and their patience, yeah, a lot of patience. I was never alone. There were times I felt alone, but feeling alone and actually being alone are not the same.
I am thankful for a loving and caring God. A God that gave His only son, a son that invites me to give Him my burdens. A son that promises me rest and peace. I am thankful to have an experience like the Mississippi Mission Trip that gave me the opportunity to give Jesus my burden. This summer I left my burden at the foot of the cross in a small Church in Lizana, Mississippi. I gave Jesus my grief and anger. It is no longer mine to carry.
It does not mean I don’t miss a loved one loss, get confused by tragic events or feel anger toward those responsible for perpetrating those events. It means I am never alone. God assures me, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that the ones I love, no longer on this earth, are never far from me. Their presence is made known in the littlest of life events; a game of Yahtzee, changing of a paper towel roll or looking at handmade Christmas ornaments. By giving Jesus my burdens, I acknowledge that God’s comfort is greater than any grief. His mercy, greater than any act of evil. And His forgiveness and compassion, greater than the anger I feel. It frees me and enables me to be a loving, compassionate, merciful and forgiving person.
I am not alone in my challenges and I am surrounded for reasons to rejoice. I am thankful I have a wonderful family and two jobs that I love. Two places of work in which I am surrounded by people who are loving and compassionate. Two places of work that are part of God’s kingdom. I witness God’s love in action every day, in my family and at work. Not too many people can say that.
I rejoice with the young couples I work with and call friends as I witness their families grow. There is just something awesome about knowing a baby is coming into the world that will be loved beyond measure. They are such wonderful, caring and loving parents. How can I not REJOICE!!!
I am inspired by the young people at St. Matthew, especially the young people gathering every Wednesday for evening prayer. They gather in prayer because they love God and each other. They have reignited my faith in ways I cannot describe. How can I not REJOICE!!!
I have a wonderful wife and two amazing children. They are growing to be such caring and loving people. One is off to college, the other learning how to drive. I love them so very much. How can I not REJOICE!!
What a year it has been…THANK GOD!!!
