Only God could have orchestrated this past year. It took Someone with a great big heart, a sense of humor and enough faith that we would hang in there, believing in the One who is in charge. When we look back on 2011 down the road, I pray that we only focus on the windows God has opened and not the doors closed. My husband, daughter and I have changed careers - not necessarily moves we planned on this year. I retired from teaching after 31 years - yes, I still miss my students, but God has put me in a very special job in the business world. Not sure what all He has planned for me, but it sure has been exciting so far! My husband made a career move, getting away from a difficult situation at a job he loved. He also misses his job, but he is a different man without all the stresses that came with the difficult situation at his previous job. Our daughter is still trying to find where God wants her to be, after graduating from college and trying a couple of other jobs. Right now, she is focused on helping her husband pay the mortgage and being a responsible adult. God has a perfect spot for her. We are just waiting to see where and what it is.
I've watched my husband grow bolder in his faith this year. Perhaps that was one of God's purposes for all the closing doors this year. He is truly becoming a Godly man, more and more each day. What a blessing to me. God has used fellow employees, Christian movies, a special singer at church one Sunday morning, a cousin of mine who shared his testimony, and our finances to bring him closer to the Maker. I love when my husband opens himself up to what God wants for us. I'm looking forward to the next steps on this journey with him.
I have been shown over and over (sometimes it takes me a little longer to learn God's lessons) that God truly is in charge of everything. When I take my eyes off Him and look at the world around me, I get discouraged, wondering how in the world we can continue as a country. I put my finger on the secret in that sentence - how in the world... I may be a part of this society on earth, but this is not my home. I need to keep focusing on the Creator, resting secure in the knowledge that God is still in control and has not given up. If He hasn't given up, who am I to do so? One Sunday morning at church, the saints were singing the song "God Will Make a Way." I've heard that song many times before, but this particular Sunday, those words made their way past my ears and brain and lodged deep in my heart. Now, not only do I know God will make a way, but I know deep, deep down in my soul that "when there seems to be no way, God will make a way." Those words have been etched on my heart for eternity. Those singing that morning in church did not know when they got up that morning and got ready for church, that they would be used by God in such a big way. I'm so thankful that God does not require beautiful voices to reach people, only people willing to sing joyfully and with heart.
God has indeed allowed doors to close this year, but He also opened windows. Doors are for walking through; windows are for flying through. We use our humanity to walk through doors; we use our spirits to fly through windows. Lord, help me to never forget how much You have loved us in this past year and how You will continue to be in control. Let me never lose focus of what You have been teaching me in 2011. My prayer for this next year is that we continue to allow You to lead us and that we will continue to give You the praise and thanks for loving us enough to put us where You want us, for having a sense of humor so that there are situations in life that make us laugh out loud, and for believing that with Your hand on our shoulders and the doors and windows in our lives, we would eventually figure out what You want us to be doing.
2012 - A year where we will continue growing in grace in the Lord, being His hands and feet along the way.
