New Year's Welcome

"The Old Year's death knell and the New Year's welcome. He comes like a carrier with a sealed parcel for every one of us. Would we wish to break the seal and peep in?"  ~ Charlotte Tucker

     The New Year is a time for contemplation. A time to remember the past year, ponder our path ahead, and prepare for brand new adventures. Until this year, I'd never quite envisioned the New Year as a gift from the Lord. It happens every year - it comes and goes like everything else. But what if we never had a New Year?  What if our days ran on and on in an endless chain - not once broken by that feeling of "newness"? What if we never had that feeling of starting afresh, a time when we purpose in our hearts to live this life for Him and gain His direction for the days ahead? Life would be dull and monotonous indeed.

     Each year is a gift. Wrapped in beautiful paper and tied with a ribbon. What it holds remains to be seen. We try to envision what lies inside. Hopes and desires we wish to see realized. Places we want to see. Relationships strengthened. Goals accomplished. And yet, only time reveals it's contents. And in His divine plan, it is best to let the gift unfold instead of seeing it all at once. :)

     I can clearly see what my package from this past year held. Had I opened my 2015 package on New Year's Day last year I would have seen trips to Ecuador and Guatemala, my brother's wedding, photography jobs, new friends, old friends, moving to a new town, new jobs, and finishing out the year with family. I would have also seen many hardships..... circumstances and difficulties which were heavy weights to bear at the time. Could I have opened it then, would I have been fearfully startled? Despondent and overwhelmed? Unwilling and ungrateful for His gift? Perhaps. And yet, in hindsight I can thank Him even for the hard times. They were links in a cord of love to draw me ever closer to Him!

     What a joy and comfort to know that He is in control of everything we hold dear. He knows us, He sees us, and He gives us gifts accordingly. What an awesome privilege to be His child. My Father gives the best gifts. Happy New Year - enjoy your gift from Him.

"Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."  ~James 1:17