2008 was really a more significant year than I actually realized as it progressed. I graduated one from high school and then sent him to college. I watched my daughter grow more beautiful and mature with each passing day, and put her behind the wheel with a driving permit. My husband and I found new aches and pains to talk about over morning coffee.
I turned 50.
(So far these are reasons enough for melancholia.)
Then there was the grueling election season that lasted a lifetime. Changes continued at the church – some I welcomed and some gave me a struggle.
So was it a great year, a good year, or an awful year? In terms of circumstances, it was at times all three. In terms of “where I’m at” as a result of it, I’d have to say it was somewhere between good and great.
An interesting personal reflection is to look at how you think and process things now versus how you did 5 years ago, 10 years, 20 years ago. It’s fascinating, really, that faith and life do shape, but also change how we think over time. It should make us thankful that God has designed us with the ability to look at things differently, discover that our thinking was flawed, or too harsh, or not serious enough in a given area of life. I believe that’s called grace.
At 50, my faith in Christ is solid as ever. It is the anchor and the backdrop for all else. As for the way I think about daily life, about how things “have to be,” about time and choices and worrying about what other people do or think – I’m in as mellow a place as I have ever been. It’s the “me” that has always been there, and I like it.
So 2009 will bring another couple of semesters of college, an official driver’s license, another digit into the 50s, a political “sitcom” to follow every day, and probably some new challenges at work.
With prayerful and placid optimism, I am ready to embrace them all. I hope you will face your 2009 in the same way.
Happy New Year!
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