The year has flown by

2011 is coming to an end, and I still have things to do. I would have liked to have lost another 20 pounds...well, not lost, I certainly don't want to find them again. I would have preferred that I had organized my house a little better. I dreamed that my home would have completed windows, insulated garage, and a yard that boasts beautiful craftsmanship.

I realize that all of the things that I have mentioned are of absolutely NO eternal value. I do not believe that God cares what shape my lawn is in, whether or not my windows are complete, and certainly not how organized my desk drawers are. So then what is it that matters? Do I follow Jesus throughout every day? Do I find myself meditating on the Word daily? Do I pray without ceasing? Are my children being taught the way of the LORD? Does my husband receive the honor he deserves? Am I charitable, hospitable, kind, and generous? Do I look towards the needs of others rather than to the needs of myself?

Wow, I guess that I have many more areas to grow in the upcoming year.

This year has been one of many ups and downs. My health was compromised, but I rallied and am quite healthy. Friendships have been torn and mended. My marriage has seen good times and bad. My children have loved me and hated me. But here I am at the end of the year, and I honestly can say, I loved 2011. It wasn't perfect, but it was what God intended.

As I look forward to 2012, I realize that there will be many more challenges and hurts that I will go through. There will be days that I will wish I could undo. But with each of those hard days, God is gracious and will grant me peace for the moment and a joy to face the next step in a line of many steps towards the goal. Holiness. To be more and more like Christ.

Dear LORD, as I face the end of one year and march towards the next, I realize that a day is nothing to you. A lifetime is but a vapor. So rather than focus on the timeframes that man so desperately clings to, let me focus on Jesus Christ. Let me learn of His ways. Grow in His Word. May each moment be saturated with Jesus, so that in the moment when I face God Almighty, I might hear, "Well done!"