Stuck in the Old?

As the New Year begins, it is fitting and proper to reflect back on the old year as well as plan for the new year. So before I even consider goals, resolutions, and dreams for the new year, I need to look back. What did last year hold? Was it a good year? Or a tough one? What would I want to repeat? What would I never want to happen again?

I started to think about 2013 and my first impression was that it was not a good year. I got stuck right there. Why did I feel that way? What happened that made me immediately come to that conclusion? I had to stop and think it through. I realized that it was basically one change in our family and lives that made me put a dark cloud on the whole year. While that one event has colored many other things in a negative light, it should not put a shadow over all that was good.

I needed to look at the year again without my dark glasses on. I had to push that one extremely sad part of my life out of the way so I could see all that was good. I didn't want to be stuck in the old year, unable to find peace and joy in the new year. I wanted to remember the good times, too. I want to rejoice in all that was positive.

So what was last year about? It was a year readjusting to changes in the family. It was a year to find out how to go on without having an older generation anymore in our lives. We are all older, with a few more aches and pains... It was a very cold winter followed by a summer we didn't really enjoy. Some of it was really hard. Some of it hurt a lot. Some of it was exhausting.

Yet there was much to celebrate as well! We received the gift of another granddaughter in June. Eleanor is a sweetheart. My husband got a raise. We got a different car and a different camper. We sold some motorcycles, a car, and the old camper. We went on a wonderful vacation to Washington DC and the East Coast. My daughter got a job. My son got a full-time position that we had long prayed for. I was able to reconnect with some old friends. We found a new home for our horses. Our church is getting a new pastor after being without a full-time one for over 2 years. We spent time together with family.  Those are just off the top of my head with little thought in it. If I looked at my calendar, I would probably find many more things to be thankful for. Was it a good year? Certainly! My dad always said that any day above ground was a good one! So if you are alive, It's a good day!

There were many good days! Many good days should add up to a good year. One good year should challenge me to find the good in the next.

So instead of being stuck in the old year or the old bad memories, it's time to look ahead to the New Year with anticipation and expectation. God has a plan for us and we can trust Him. We can stop letting the bad overshadow the good. We can press forward, onward, and be glad for another day, another year of life. We can remember the good and let that help us to trust going forward will have its rewards even if there are some difficulties along the way. We will continue to celebrate life and God's goodness to us. I am going to get 'unstuck!' On with the New!