Reflections of 2008

I've been reflecting a lot tonight over the past year. What a year it has been! 2008 had it's great moments, and it had it's sad and not so good moments.

It seems our year is ending the way it started-covered in snow. As a matter of fact, I was depressed when I figured out that we only had four months in north Idaho that did NOT have snow! Only four months! Global warming?? I don't think so. Despite the crazy weather, we did enjoy the bounties of my new garden, with the four great raised beds that my husband made for me. We finally got in both our front and back yards, and the paver patio was finished just before the bad weather came along. We look forward to enjoying it come SPRING! We still have a few things to add to our garden project, but it is pretty nice to have accomplished so much this year!

Through my friend Jenny, I met a new friend who has blessed me immensely. Even though we grew up in the same town, we haven't officially met, but our friendship has grown through emails, and her encouragement and prayers mean so much to me. Unfortunately, our friend Jenny is not here to bless us any longer after she lost her fight with cancer. Her family has been heavy on my heart the past couple weeks, as I know they miss her so much. Jenny was an amazing woman who gave strength to so many people, and taught those of us who were willing to listen to grasp every day of life for the most you can get out of it and not to waste any time. Each moment is precious.

Another friend, someone I looked up to as a loving, very kind woman, lost her very, very short battle to cancer almost a year ago. Roberta's first grandchild was born a couple months after her death, and even though her granddaughter will not have her grandma in her life, I know her sons will pass on the loving legacy of their beloved mom, as it lives through them and the spirit of Roberta will go on in her family.

We lost some pets in our family this year, and unless you are an animal person, that seems insignificant, but to those who love their pets, you understand. My sister's family lost their great dog, Cody, to cancer, and we lost a llama to cancer as well. I thought of Cappu a lot at Christmas because he was brown and loved to run and jump so we always called him a reindeer this time of year. Both of them brought a lot of smiles and memories and we are grateful that God put them in our lives.

2008 brought a lot of GREAT moments with my hubby and our families. A cousin who has been out of our lives for ten years, returned to the area and we have reconnected and are growing our relationship on new levels. It's great to have him back in our lives! We had a lot of wonderful memory-making days with our nieces that will be treasured for many years to come-mini golf, times at the park, bowling, the carousel at Riverfront Park, sleep overs and movies, to just name a few. My mom, sister, nieces and myself had a fun day that will live on for a long time at Riverfront and Manito Parks this summer. We had a lot of fun! One of our older niece's who is in the Navy called us on Christmas day to say hi. We lost contact with her over the past couple years as she's been traveling around and advancing her career. She now is an intelligence officer! She lived with us for part of the summers for a number of years, so it was great to connect with her again and we look forward to staying in touch. We had a new great niece born in May and got to visit her and her brother, and our nephew and his wife, in September. We spent some great times with our families on day trips, a week vacation to Whidbey Island, and out camping in the woods. We enjoyed a great family get together on my dad's side, in August. We hadn't all been together for over 20 years! We thank God for our families and for special times spent with each of them.

My hubby was laid off 6 weeks ago, applied for a new job, called for an interview three weeks ago, and was called that he got the job a couple days before Christmas. What a true Christmas blessing that news was to us!! We thank God for the opportunity that will be started next week! It's going to bring a lot of changes to what has been the norm in our lives for 20 years, but I think they will be good changes. There were a lot of tense times for me in that time, but I know that when I trusted in God and started to say I would praise Him if the job came through or I would praise Him if the job did not come through, things sure went better for all of us, and we got to see how God laid this whole thing out for advancement in my husband's career. It's amazing how God can work, if we allow Him!!

Through facebook, I have reconnected with old friends from high school that I lost contact with over the past 20 some years. It's been great to get updates on them, as well. The ministries we volunteered with at church changed some over the year, although we still work with middle schooler's, just a different area. New friendships have come about through those ministries, while other friendships have strengthened over the year. We have some great friends that we are thankful for, as well.

There have been many situations that have revealed new things about God and His power and majesty and how He is in control no matter what the circumstances, over this past year. We continue to strive to grow in our relationship with Him. We have learned that teachable moments pop up everywhere if we look for them. More and more, we learn to rely on Jesus and the plans He has for our lives.

2008 taught us a lot, and we look forward to 2009 with anticipation for new opportunities, new adventures, new relationships, and for a new level of relationships with those already in our lives, and with Christ. We know that the days ahead hold a lot of unknown, but we know that no matter what, God is in control and He still sits on His throne as ruler and King, and He will be right beside us through every day of the new year.

Blessings in the new year!