The past few days I've been reflecting on the end of another year...and as I normally do, I have been journaling a summary of the year as I remember it. My troubled thots from the past few weeks on 'why do I feel dull and tired in my soul?' suddenly became clear to me:
IT'S BEEN A WILD RIDE!
But oh, the blessing as I review it all and see the hand of God as He penned
the lines of my story each and every day.
From identifying
with Jesus thru gossip
and slander spoken
unjustly,
with Jesus thru gossip
and slander spoken
unjustly,
to walking with some very dear friends through some tough
spots in the journey and seeing God work amazing miracles
of healing in their body, soul and spirit,
to having my daughter walk thru a hard time for 4 months of the this
past year in Lyme-related struggles and watching God heal her
and help her to return to more normal living that she has known
since 2014,
to having my husband go thru a scary health crisis and watching God
bring healing and clarity to that situation,
to helping to prepare for and enjoy a special wedding,
to saying goodbye to the bride who moved cross-country,
to having some deep disappointments from sources that we
never expected,
to being mysteriously ill myself and seriously 'hindered' for 10 weeks
at the beginning of 2016, and then slowly feeling the healing hand
of God bring me back to mostly normal again,
(and wading through the unexpected $10,000.00 medical bills;
thank God for his provision in helping us get them paid, tho we
had other 'hopes and dreams' for that money),
to 2/3 of our children becoming licensed drivers this year,
to having the unique situation of having ALL of our children
be teenagers at the same time (for one year only...)
to turning 40,
and celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary...
that has been beyond our control...
But God has been faithful and through every
trial and every smile, there has been
the undeniable knowing that I am my Beloved's
and my Beloved is mine.
The year has been filled with moments of awe...
the powerful Holy Spirit that helped us over
the rough waters of annoyance at each other
(oh my yes, my Farmer and I have those, too!)
and choosing LOVE instead...
the moments of tender, loving care from my Farmer
and our children when I was sick and could not
walk (I shuffled!) for awhile...
the sunsets enjoyed over the lake,
the friends gathered in our home various times,
the worship services with our church family,
the connection with those of like precious faith from
various churches whose hearts beat with ours in
wanting the simplicity that is in Christ
(this is special, because for many years, we have known
barriers and walls that satan helped to erect that are not
God's heart),
and family times reading through Proverbs, or reciting
Scripture, or simply playing games and laughing together.
I loved all the deep hearted conversations I've had
throughout the year with friends both young and older...
Sprinkled among the mundane, these have been
sweet gifts from our Lord to my heart!
I loved all the deep hearted conversations I've had
throughout the year with friends both young and older...
Sprinkled among the mundane, these have been
sweet gifts from our Lord to my heart!
The waters of passivity lap dangerously close to my feet
these days and I think I need to simply stop and
drink more deeply from the Well. My spirit is a bit tired
as we end this year, but I am holding to God's unchanging Hand.
As the sun sinks beneath the horizon,
ending the year 2016,
my hope and plea is that we all will
make Jesus our everything...
and that we will live the purpose that He
gave us on earth:
to Know Him and making Him known,
to love Him with our all,
and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
All else hinges on this purpose.
If what we are about to do or say does not
fit the purpose, let's purpose not to do or say it.
Here's looking to the dawning of another year,
as God tarries.
Love and blessings,
Marcia
PS
The other day, as I was journaling my year in review,
my daugher was listening to music in the other room as she
folded laundry.
This song came across her playlist and I
immediately was struck with how well it fit my thots.
I share it here for your inspiration.
PS
The other day, as I was journaling my year in review,
my daugher was listening to music in the other room as she
folded laundry.
This song came across her playlist and I
immediately was struck with how well it fit my thots.
I share it here for your inspiration.
