Endings and Beginnings

Every New Year's Eve when I was a little girl, my brother and I were allowed to stay awake until midnight. I remember running around in my footie pajamas or nightgown waiting for the countdown to the end of the year on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve. And once the ball dropped, my parents always allowed us to have a small sip of champagne (hey....it was the 70's!!) and we toasted the New Year together. If my brother and I were at my grandmother's house we missed out on the sip and we always had to start the new year by praying. Great memories!

There's always been something special about that moment at midnight, the ending of a year and the fresh new beginning of another. Somehow we think that as soon as the clock turns twelve then everything that happened in the previous year goes away and we get a fresh new slate.

We want to rush into that new year so that we can forget about all of the bad things that happened in the last one. We can put away the family that we lost, the arguments that we had, the sins we committed, the recession, the wars, the job losses and the like. The danger in thinking that way is that we often tend to forget the good things that happened as well.

Can we afford to forget that we woke up 365 mornings? Dare we not remember that no matter what happened the day before, that God's mercies were brand new when we opened our eyes. God's grace was upon us, even in the dark times.

Can we forget the praying we did? Even if the prayers weren't answered like we wanted, it was time spent with God.

Can we really put behind us the trials and tribulations we endured? Each one was an opportunity that God gave us to get closer to Him, to deepen our relationship with Him and to learn about who we are in Him.

Can we forget the tears we shed? Can we possibly think they were wasted? God doesn't think so. "You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?" Psalm 56:8

We all went through a lot in the last year. Some of it bad and some of it good. The question is whether we let the experiences bring us closer to God or further away. Do we ask "why me?" or do we follow Paul and "count it all joy"?

When I think back on my challenges in 2009, I will remember what God said:

"I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come." Isaiah 46:10. He knew what I would have to endure and already had my way out in the plan.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Revelations 22:13. God is there always, at the end of my sorrows and the beginning of my joy.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5.

And the morning begins at 12:00:01 a.m. just at the stroke of midnight.

Whether is 1979, 1999 or 2009, life is a cycle of endings and beginnings, starts and stops, ups and downs, life and death, so be ready. I pray with all my heart that you always remember that God loves you. That He has a purpose and a plan for your life. That YOU are His favored child. That the thoughts He has towards you are good and not evil, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Remember that He sent His son to die for you and that His saving grace is yours to have and to keep. And that He promised to be with you, even unto the end.

Happy New Year! In 2010 I resolve to love more, forgive faster and speak life every day.

Oh and maybe, just maybe, shop less.

In love,

Mona