A Decade Of Reflections

Friday, January 1, 2010

So many people seem to have taken the opportunity to reflect on the decade as they rang in 2010. I've never been one for a great deal of reflection just because it was New Years, but I thought I'd give it a try. It IS interesting to think about all the things that have happened in 10 years -- many great, some sad, some tragic. In this decade, I personally experienced: graduation from college, my first real job, the death of my dad, my "own" place, graduation from seminary, marriage, ordination, the birth of our first child, 30. And I'm sure I am forgetting much. But in all of this I see the hand of God.

As I consider the year 2010, and even the decade that is to come, I know that it too will be filled with great things, exciting things, sadness. But all wrapped in the blessing of God. Over the next 10 years, I will be entitled to raise our children, to nurture them and point them to the goodness of God. To watch as they grow in stature in wisdom, go to school, play their first sports, learn an instrument, sing in the Christmas program. Soren will be 11 in ten years -- almost in middle school! Maybe we'll be in a new house, have more children, have had amazing experiences or experienced loss. It is exciting to think about.

But mostly, New Year's Day is an opportunity to plan for the next year. To set goals and express hopes for the next year. Some, the same old resolutions: exercise more. Learn or develop a skill (is it time to take up sewing, perhaps? photography?). Others are continuous: to keep seeking God. To give Soren a knowledge of the Scriptures and the God who breathed them. For our home to be a place that welcomes visitors and is a place of nourishment and rest for our family and friends. I pray that God will help me to accomplish these goals in 2010 and beyond.