Happy New Year to you, dear friend! I hope and pray for you that this will be a blessed year for you, for all it has in store.
I am happy that 2009 is over. It was, to be honest, a trying year for me. I saw progress in my walk with the Lord, and He helped me find my way through some struggles and strongholds. But it was not fun! I also saw many friends and family suffer with job losses, sick children, and family problems. I saw friends move on to something new and exciting in their lives and thought, “What about my family?”
But for 2010, I see a fresh palette, “Fresh with no mistakes,” as Anne says in Anne of Green Gables. I took the girls to the beach yesterday (Newport Beach) and sat marveling at God’s creation and the beauty of the ocean view. I don’t want to leave California and go back to Costa Rica! But as I sat praying, I committed this to God, and I told Him that I want to be a blessing to others this year. I want it to be a blessed year for those around me, and if He can use me to fulfill that, I want that. I want to spend this year looking up at Him in praise and thankfulness, not looking around in anxiety.
On my next blog post I will tell you a bit about our trip to California, and the joy we had in spending time with friends and family. But for now, I end with this verse that brings hope to my soul, for all that 2010 will hold, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever.” Ps. 136:1