A New Year... A New Season... Under Heaven 2007

For most of the world, January 1st has already come. For those of us in the US, January 1st is still on its way. It is amazing that a year has already passed. There have been soooooo many lessons in the last year. I know that many of these lessons have deeply changed how I perceive my world.

One of the lessons that I have learned during the last year is that there is nothing more valuable than the relationships that I have with my children and that these relationships can be taken in a matter of moments. I have learned to value our interactions. I consider every day how we as a family have interacted that day. I wonder and ponder how we can get better the next day and learn to love each other more. I spend much time praying for my children to become all that they are meant to be. Afterall, in a blink of an eye, they will be adults and having children of their own. Time is but a breath.

Another of the lessons I have learned is to give myself permission to rest. I am often driven to achieve even in the face of my own body telling me, sometimes very loudly, to rest. I don't know where I learned that rest was not ok, but it is something that I am learning to unseat in my life. I am learning that rest is the most essential part of my life. Without rest, my body cannot rejuvenate itself enough to tackle the most important parts of each day. So, I must make an effort to allow myself to rest when my body requires rest. Rest is OK!! It is a necessary part of cell growth and rejuvenation. Too often in the old days of the US (the early 1900's to the World War II days), people were driven by such a heavy work ethic that they did not always allow for rest. If you slept in on Saturdays, you were called lazy. Now, we are learning that the world that we live in is such a stress filled world that the body requires adequate rest in order to survive the pressures and stresses of this world. Each body is unique in its rest needs. My body seems to need more. But then again, I am a caregiver and I am always in the position of giving care to others, especially my special needs children, so I am constantly having to remind myself to take care of "me," so I can adequately take care of others.

As I look towards this new year, I am pressed to consider those relationships around me which are important to me. I am also pressed to keep my eyes focused on the goals that I have laid out in front of me to attain. But most of all, I am pressed to make Jesus Christ, more and more, my King. The more I spend time with Him and consider His voice in my life, the more everything else gets very clearly and cleanly laid out for me. I can get through anything as long as I am deeply connected to my King.

Who knows what 2007 will bring. I am hoping that it will teach me many new things. I am also hoping that it will be a productive year in the lives of my children as well as the lives of those around me. I hope that I can be an instrument of grace in the lives of those I am blessed to touch. That is my life's prayer... three hours to go and a new season is upon us. I hope we all draw closer together and learn to live together in kindness and love.

My best to you,
RamyB