Peaceful and Expectant

I was recently asked the question: “How do you want to finish this year?”

Two words immediately came to mind: Peaceful and Expectant.

I want to come to grips with who I was in 2021, both my highlights and my less-than-stellar moments.

Some things I mastered with finesse; others I barely mustered through.
Too often, I complained.
Occasionally, I swayed with the rhythm of grace.

Sometimes I ignored the needs glaring in my face. Other times, I went out of my way for perfect strangers.
Sometimes I only focused on the negatives of a situation. Other times I was able to give thanks for my imperfect circumstances.
Occasionally, I embraced the wonder of my moments.

Sometimes I was melancholy. Other times, joy and laughter came effortlessly.
Sometimes I withheld myself from people. Other times, I gave until I was wrung dry.
Occasionally, the tears of grief and happiness mingled together.

Most days, I tried to be thankful for it all. Those were the days I remembered Father. Those times I called to mind His love and faithfulness and the standing invitation to trust His heart.

Even if I cannot always understand His ways.

This past year was challenging for so many folks I love. Death. Cancer. Weariness. Isolation. Wandering children. Aging and sick parents. Marital struggles. Depression. Suicide. And a host of other difficulties battered the walls of human hearts.

There have been troubling times in 2021. Things beyond my control have been tumbling and spiraling the world over. Like a can of shaken soda, we are all churning inside. And only one thing can calm the turmoil. Only One Presence can soothe the division, be it outward disunity or an inward severance.

God with us.

Three words that encompass the entirety of my faith and trust, no matter how tumultuous the times may appear.

God with us — this is where I nestle in peace.
God with us — this is where I find expectancy for what lies ahead. Be it twenty-four years down the road or simply the next twenty-four hours. Or even the next twenty-four seconds.

Stretching beyond just Christmas and stepping into every day, Immanuel remains the foundation of my faith.

God with me in who I am and who I sometimes fail to be.
God with me as I cling to hope, expectantly looking forward to tomorrow despite the breaking found in today.
God with me as I come to terms with the tragedies and the triumphs of this past year.

God with me as I look forward and backward and rest in the hope that is mine today and tomorrow.

A hope that is much more than a disappointing fantasy because it begins and continues in the endless love of God cascading through my life.

With a New Year on the horizon, I dare to look for the good I am sure to find, and I pray I will learn to be it better than I did yesterday.

In short, I am determined to end this year with a semi-colon instead of a period.

I want to look for Father in the belittled gifts and see the potential for miracles today, tomorrow, and always.

How do you want to finish this year?

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FOR REFLECTION

This year has had most of us bouncing all over the map of emotions.
Some of you have received devastating blows. 
Others have reaped a harvest of blessings. 
Or maybe you find yourself with one foot in each world, forced to embrace a conglomeration of joy and sorrow and feelings you cannot even name. 

Perhaps you are winding up 2021 with a broken heart. If so, then know that Jesus is right there with you. He feels every sadness that overwhelms you and wants to absorb your hurt. May you notice Him there. And nestle yourself a bit closer into the nook of His arm.  

The hurt may still be present.
The pain of loss may never go away on this side of eternity.

 But neither will He. 

And that’s a promise worth hanging your hopes on.

And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!
– Romans 5:5, TPT