Reflections in the Rear View Mirror

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I love to reflect.  It is probably a strength, as well as a weakness of mine.  As the year comes to an end, I always look back.  There are parts of the year that usually makes my skin crawl. But more than those events is always the prevailing truth that God has never left my side.  I also take in the fact that His sovereignty has always prepared me for what was ahead, if I would only listen.  So as I reflect through the rear view mirror at the year 2012, I see once again that He knew and prepared me.

I entered 2012 with a gusto to live "intentionally".  My words for the year were "spunk" and "meekness".  One word would characterize my zeal to bring fun back into my life. The other would be a process God would mold in my heart.
My beginning post on "spunk" - http://janettessage.blogspot.com/2012/01/spunk-or-moxie.html
My post on "meekness" - http://janettessage.blogspot.com/2012/01/meekness.html
In fact, every post in January 2012 prepared me for the year to come.

I can "spunkily" say that God allowed me to experience that word to its fullest.  I watched for every opportunity to experience it.  My neighbor laughed as I shared with her the day I pulled on my new pink bathing suit, wrapped my thunder thighs in a Hawaiian wrap, climbed on my pink bike and rode down the main street of our subdivision with my six-year-old to swim at the pool.  We both laughed at how one little event can make you feel alive again....she says she still has that picture in her head.  "Spunk"...you were a delight in 2013... from concerts, to filling my sand pail, to stuffing my stocking and sharing life through the eyes of a child.  I will not put my "spunk" on a shelf. Instead, I will continue to push forward with the joys of life.

Spunk helped me to feel energized when the "energy-buster" hit our family with unemployment.

During the year, the Lord let me come to terms with "LIFE". That is right, both the fact that it can be taken away in a flash and the fact that it never is what we imagined.  It is okay that life isn't what I imagined.  As I continue to watch God place pieces onto my puzzle of life, I was able to share with precious others that our pictures may look different... but they are OURS and that fact makes ours a masterpiece.

I left 2012 with more unanswered questions than answers for the new year.  I also picked my new word.... .....TRANSITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That is what 2013 will be, a season of transition.  Just like 2012, I know that what I think that word will mean and the final definition is all in God's hands.

My spiritual word last year was meekness...this year... Joy.  I don't want to cover the scars that God has allowed in my life, I just want to look at them with total JOY!  This again will be a heart issue like meekness.  I pray that both will grow from the inside out.

Because we will have two marriages in 2013 (one son and our only daughter), I am turning  to my "Silver Fox" and  take time out to re-new, invest and turn up the heat on our 32 years of marriage.  I think this will be fun.  We don't have an empty-nest yet, so these two gray-hairs (almost 60 for hubby) will have to be creative and possibly take some Geritol.  Life can really put a strain on relationships and it is time for us to patch some of the holes that the curve balls of life have inflicted on our marriage.

I am also picking an accessory for this year.  Now I know that sounds really funny, but stay with me.  I am picking shoes!  That is right - SHOES!!  Why?  Because I feel that God will be taking my feet to new places and with Him, I am going in style.  I have neglected my shoes for years in exchange for other necessities in life, but this year I believe He will even adorn my feet.

Welcome 2013....I am looking forward to all you will hold.  Last year was a good year of growth...and I am sure there is more to come.