Perspective

The older I get the more I appreciate the New Year.  My view has changed, mostly in the last three years, from seeing the New Year as a fantastic drinking opportunity to seeing it as a time to reflect and renew.  There is something refreshing about knowing that I have another year of opportunity before me.  Another year to get it right, try something new, do something different.

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I asked my husband last night, "What are you most proud of accomplishing over the past year?"  I was trying to be all lovey-dovey and reflective and cute, but men don't really feed in to that sort of thing, do they? He grunted a reply while I sat, half-listening, thinking about what my own answer would be.  What would you say?

A few weeks ago, God laid the word perspective on my heart.  This word has been ever present in my daily life since then.  This year most of us have dealt with unimaginable sadness at some point, hopefully unimaginable joy at another.  Some of us are eager to see this year go, and others are anticipating the joys that a new year will bring.  As a country, we have bickered over elections and banned together over heartache.  I have welcomed a new class of children, and yearned for children of my own.  I have cried and laughed and cried again.  And I hope to cry and laugh and cry again next year.  We are only human.  We can never hope for perfect.  We can hope for perspective. 

Opening Christmas presents

I am writing this sitting in a small cabin in Ellijay, Georgia.  There is ice on the ground and a fire in the fireplace.  I am surrounded by people I love; my mom, my dad, my brother, his girlfriend, Dallas, and my loving husband. There is a hot tub waiting to warm me next to a flowing river with trout for the hubs. This is a great way to welcome a year of new.

Happy New Year from The Clowers

So, while I may still wake up with a hangover on Tuesday morning, I'll be doing it with a whole new perspective.

Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust Him, and He will help you.  Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.  -Psalm 37: 5,7