Another Year Gone By

As 2016 comes to a close, I have many mixed emotions. This is the first time that I can recall that I am actually feeling uneasy about the start of a new year. Typically I feel energized and motivated when a new year rolls around. It's a new beginning, a fresh start. A chance to reflect on the year that is ending and look at areas in your life you wish to improve upon. Time to set goals. Make plans...list your hopes and dreams for the new calendar year. 2016 was not particularly difficult for my family or in my own personal life. In fact, it was actually the first year in our almost 10 years of marriage that I can recall in which we had no major life changes or occurrences. No moving, babies, pregnancies, illnesses (thankfully), job changes, school, major trips, or otherwise life altering happenings...good or bad. While I am guilty in the past of praying for an "easy" year at the beginning of a new year, I know that while your comfort zone is just that...comfortable...it's not a place of growth. So even though 2016 was mostly kind to us, and mostly easy, I am ready for 2017 to shake things up a little. I am hoping this year we can make some positive changes for our family in several areas, and there is one big risk in particular that I am contemplating. Maybe it's not so much a risk, but a challenge I may be taking on. More on that when I work through it a little more. But back to that uneasy feeling as 2017 quickly approaches. 2016 may have been a quiet year in our little corner, but for the world and for our country it was anything but. On a national and global level, 2016 was filled with devastation, hate, hurt, loss. Mass shootings, Aleppo, police violence, terror, ISIS, natural disasters...and at the forefront of my mind the ridiculous political season that culminated with the election of someone I believe to be completely unfit to serve as our Commander in Chief. I could go on and on about the many reasons his presidency fills me with fear, but it's already out there. I am not alone by any stretch of the imagination. There are many real reasons that we as a country should be deeply concerned about him taking office in just a few weeks. And I am baffled by the fact that so many people still legitimately believe that he is qualified to hold one of the most powerful positions in the entire world. Mostly my fear is for my children. The decisions he makes in the coming months and years will impact the lives of my children...and all children...for decades to come. Decisions regarding our environment, public education, human rights, war, nuclear weapons...it's truly scary. But I have to continually remind myself that my God is bigger than all of that, and ultimately His plan will prevail. He is in control. And maybe this is all just a wake up call for our country. So as we move into 2017, may it bring peace and hope to our hurting world...may it bring our country together as we strive to become the country we were created to be. And may my own family be challenged in ways that cause us to grow, set goals and accomplish them, make positive changes in health and wellness, grow closer together, closer to Him, and reach out to love and serve others in our community.