Goodbye and Hello

Christmas is over, and this is the time of year that everyone looks forward, counting the ways they want to be different in the coming year. The ways to make themselves better. And as the clock strikes 12, and we move forward a year, we have barely taken a breath and the house is already stacked against us in achieving said goals.

I have mentioned often in recent posts that this year has been a hard one full of change. Each year I come up with a theme rather than a list of resolutions. This theme becomes my mission statement for the year and a standard of sorts as I wade through the big and small decisions of the daily grind. What I did know at this time last year, was that it would be a year full of changes. I sensed that God had much in store for me, and it would involve bold steps forward. What I did not realize, was that "goodbye" would become the official word of 2010.

What I have learned about the word goodbye is this-
It is hard
It is painful
It involves making some of the hardest decisions you feel like you will ever make
It undoubtedly will involve some tears - maybe a lot
It is freeing

The last statement might surprise you to read... goodbye = freedom? I guess, the only way I know to describe it is by saying that sometimes, you don't realize the weight you are carrying around. And in the incremental process that you begin to let things go, you take a deep breath and find joy in unexpected places.

I am not sure yet what the theme will be for this year. But, I do know that I will say goodbye to 2010 knowing that I not only moved boldly and upheld my theme, but I also achieved some goals that I have been carrying around with me for quite a few years. I lived this year - every moment - good and bad.

2011 does have one word that emerges as I step into it though, the word hope. I have a sense of anticipation and am very excited about what 2011 will bring. In the midst of that hope, this verse from Jeremiah, makes my heart full:

"Before you saw the light of the sun, I knew the way I would send you."

I am not sure what the next year will bring me, but I know that God is an amazing Author.

Hello, 2011.