Happy 2019! Gosh the holidays went quickly! It was Thanksgiving, I blinked and it was Christmas and then bam...2019.
Did the New Year come quickly for you too?
When I was a little girl, I can remember my Daddy saying "before you know it, it will be Christmas". When he said that to me, I thought he was crazy. I mean even if it was November, Christmas felt like it was a loonnnnng way off. Perhaps it is getting older, but what my Daddy said is so true, before we know it...(Lord willing) it will be Christmas again.
If we are blessed enough to see another Christmas, there will be a lot of living between now and then. If we are not careful, we will blink and then bam...a new week, a new month, Thanksgiving, Christmas and then a new year all over again.
As a culture, we welcome the New Year with open arms. We want to put the pain of the past year behind us and move into the positivity and "newness" of the New Year.
Perhaps the hype of the New Year gets us confused because... (spoiler alert)...problems will arise in every season of this year, we will get busy, things will not go our way, and there will be loss in 2019.
Bummer right?
Not at all!
Knowing upfront things will go wrong can help us stop rushing to get to the time, job, place, relationship or otherwise where everything is the way we want it to be and start finding the joy in what is.
Camping has taught me a lot about things not being the way I would like. I like inside, no humidity, a cool breeze, 72 degrees, a quick set-up, and NO BUGS!
In spite of my preferences...I find so much joy in camping!
I am looking forward to adding a little flava to the upcoming camping season. I have accepted my hair won't be perfectly coiffed on camping trips so I have found major joy in my collection of cute hats!!!
When we think about joy, we usually think about it with happiness, with things going well...easy breezy beautiful cover girl!
But the Bible challenges our definition of joy:
Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. James 1:2-3
Inner peace for 2019....Yaaaaasss!