The new year is upon us. For some, it is a time to drink a whole bottle of champagne. For others, it is a time to start yet another gym membership. For me, it is a time to reflect on the goodness of God.
God has indeed been good this past year, pouring unexpected blessings into my life and sheltering me in some massive storms. Psalm 115:1 says: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory because of Your love and Your faithfulness.” He has used these twelve months to make me both stronger and more dependent…more compassionate.
One way He did it was through circumstances. Multiple walls have quickly come up in my path and I’ve had to grit my teeth and pray, “With my God’s help, I can scale a wall.” In the face or aftermath of each challenge, I had to choose whether I would be angry, bitter, and prideful or I would be quiet, empathetic, and respectful. It was not always easy to choose the latter, but by His grace I had the strength to do so, even if I had to doubt and wrestle a bit before I could.
Another way He did it was through people. Earlier in the year, I decided to sponsor my fourth child through Compassion International. Meet Gloria (pictured above), a sweet teenager from Bolivia. Though I’ve known and supported her for a relatively short time, I am already a better person for it. God uses each interaction with every one of my children to humble me and make me more grateful, more understanding, more patient. (If you’re looking for a new way to give and bless in the new year, I highly recommend child sponsorship!) And Gloria is just one of several wonderful people God has brought into my life since last Christmas – people who have each blessed me in unexpected, raw, and beautiful ways.
So as I reflect today and set some goals for the next year, my biggest prayer is: “God, use whatever lies ahead in 2018 to make me a more compassionate person, a person filled with Your love and faithfulness for Your glory. And I pray the same for you, dear reader. Let us each become stronger through brokenness and kinder through the revealed tenderness of God poured into our hearts every day of our lives.
I’ll close with a quotation I love: “And I said to the One who stood at that gate of the year, ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And He replied, ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'” – Minnie Haskins (check out some great history behind this quotation on the following page: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsehistory/2013/12/10/the-gate-of-the-year-minnie-louise-haskins-1875-1957/)