Goodbye 2010

Christmas has come and gone and for the most part it was a wonderful month of celebrating. A year ago I couldn't have said that. Last December began with my dad having bypass surgery...and it took the weeks after to recover for all of us. The important things got done, and the other things...well...I realized if it didn't happen it wasn't all that important. It's fascinating to me how times like that force you to evaluate what really matters. This December, there was stomach flu...coughs and colds...work...a Christmas musical extravaganza to direct...and the usual holiday busyness. Yet, I found myself saying, "No one is having surgery this month. No one is in the hospital. We're good. Life is good...we can do this with joy." You see, there are two options...living life and living life with joy.

I usually think New Year's resolutions are silly and set people up for mid-winter failure . "My new year's resolution is to lose weight...work less...travel...volunteer...". Starting a year with a goal isn't bad, but often times people set a goal that isn't very realistic, they proclaim their goal to all who'll listen with the hopes of setting up some measure of accountability...then weeks later when the resolution has not been met the result is an "epic fail" (to borrow my 12 year old's vocab).

This year, I am going to make a resolution to not just live, but live with joy. Not just joy at Christmas time, but try to find the joy all the time. The fortunate thing about an unfortunate circumstance is that they teach you that you can get through hard times and come out the other side. You have something worse to compare your current situation to, and most of the time it isn't the worst you've ever experienced... so it makes whatever you're going through now more manageable.

So here is to life with joy...Joy because I have a healthy, loving family that supports me and makes me laugh every day...Joy because I absolutely love my job...Joy because I have friends who carry me and allow me to carry them as we fill in the gaps in each other's lives...Joy because the creator of the world chose to come to earth and save me from myself, wants relationship with me, and furthermore has a place for me in heaven with Him in-spite of how undeserving I am...

Joyful New Year to you and Yours