New Beginnings

2008! Wow! Where did ’07 go?
Over and over I have heard the words “new beginnings” being stated about this year. Those words resonate deep within me.
Every year, not unlike most people, I make resolutions, but always seem to forget them or just flat out break them week two of the new year. I feel so very different about this year because I truly do see it as a time of new beginnings. Last year, was a very difficult year for me. It was a year in which I found out my career would be ending. While I thought I was prepared for the change, I really wasn't. It wasn't just my career, I found out about some health issues (I knew something was wrong, but the doc's ignored my symptoms and did not actually diagnose it until I demanded an MRI). I panicked. I decided that I needed to fix everything before "the end." I think I destroyed most of what I was trying to fix, and my stress levels only added to my health issues. Then an awesome thing happened; a verse from The Bible came to mind "[b]e still and know that I am God..." so I sat down and listened. God spoke those words (Ps 46) at a time in which chaos was all around, and He reminded me that He is my refuge, my fortress, my protection, my God...all I had to do was trust Him. From there out, all I have done is listen...and it is so amazing how the Lord has gotten through to me. I have made decisions in which He gave me dreams directing me not to do what I had planned...He was so right. He also had people walk down from the platform at church and pull me aside to talk to me. I even attended a conference (what a conference...it was like Woodstock meets Jesus...whew, but that's beside the point) in which I knew no one, and He had someone stop in the middle of teaching to speak to me. Nothing impacted me like the words that were spoken that day. It was when the lights went on and I realized the Lord has plans far beyond my insignificant attempts at living.
So, my life is changing, and this year will definately be a year of new beginnings. The first four months, I will be locked up in my house finishing off the last of my classes (6 courses...ouch). My job end date is up in the air. Since I know every position in my area, some are rallying to keep me until June so that I could train all the people who were hired on with the new trust company; however, the current manager would like to wing it with her new people and let everyone here go in March. I didn't apply for a job with the new trust company, I never felt a peace about it, and I am suprisingly confident in my decision. So, if my employment ends in March, I'll have some fantastic study time; if it ends in June, I'll have some time to build where God says build. Whatever the future holds, I am so looking forward to it and will do what the Lord instructs me to do...and go where He says go. I am free, I am ready, and I am more than willing to meet this year head-on!

I hope this year is a year of new beginnings for you as well!

Isaiah 43:18-19
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Psalm 143:8
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.