We enjoyed Christmas here in Jackson with my family and then went to Ohio to spend time with DaLee’s Mom and local sisters. No real schedule so lots of relaxing and lots of eating! After the time off, it sure was hard to come back to my “real world.” However, we had to do it.
A new year started but our work goes on. Like the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Dory has a new semester with new classes but it’s still school. I have some new groups of students but it’s still school. DaLee has a new Physical Therapy student to work with but it’s still work. Bretney had a new month and a new year but her work continued just the same. All of this reminds us how important it is to see the new year as a time of new beginnings, fresh starts, and recommitments. We all need those times of stopping, re-evaluating, or perhaps correcting a course. They say most diets are started on Monday – a fresh, new day and week. Like surveyors who drive a stake in the ground to mark the corner of a plot, a new day – or year! – is a good stake to build on or use as a reference.
One of the greatest new things around is God’s mercy. The writer of Lamentations (3:22-23 RSV) tells us that “22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” Every morning when we get up, God has a brand new load of mercy to pour on us – regardless of what we did yesterday! And, His mercies are new every morning – not just Mondays or New Year’s Day! Praise the Lord and pass that last piece of pumpkin pie! (I’ll deal with it come Monday!) A big thanks to Tom and Brian for covering for me in our absence. As always, it’s easier to leave when I know there are capable and willing hands to take over.
Until our next togethering,
love ya,
Bret
