On December 20th I left work until January 2nd. It was such a beautiful couple of weeks full of rest, relaxation, lack of alarm clocks and responsibility. I watched a bunch of movies, read a book and started 2 more, catching up on so many things and just...enjoying my time off.
2013 has started and while 2012 went out quietly, full of relaxation, 2013 has swept in like a tsunami and has wreaked all sorts of havoc. Between a crashed server and other hardware issues at work, Aaron woke up last Saturday and as the day progressed got steadily sicker. The flu entered our home. Our receptionist at work has been sick all week, too and has come in with it a time or two. Fortunately I've had my flu shot so I am hoping to dodge the bullet but Christopher is still vulnerable.
Having talked to several people the same theme has come up - prayer this is the worst that 2013 has to offer and we get all of our "troubles" out of the way at the start. Not sure that's going to be the case. Watching the news tonight and like every night we are bombarded by so much that is not comforting.
Fiscal cliffs, debt ceilings, flu "epidemic," gun control, school shootings...and those are the headlines in the first two minutes. Our country seems to be rushing toward... something. A showdown? A cliff (not just the fiscal kind)? Disaster? I'm not sure.
The funny thing is, I know I'm not in the first generation to think such things. I hear - a lot - and do agree that things seem to be "getting worse" but I also know, well... they're supposed to be. No offense but... God doesn't say it'll get better before Jesus returns.
It is heartbreaking to see, though and to know that even if I manage to die before anything horrific happens and thereby escape true "suffering," my children or my grandchildren or my great-grandchildren won't. Someone is going to have to suffer for the mistakes we make. Too many bright minds lost to drugs. Too many neighborhoods lost to drugs, to unemployment. Too many families losing their homes, their jobs, their livelihoods. Too many children dropping out of school. Disease, earthquakes in "unusual" areas, hurricanes of such massive force they make roller coasters look like toothpicks... These are not new occurrences and perhaps they aren't even anymore frequent than they have been in the past. We just hear about them more now. Media and Technology have made this a very, very small world.
Yet...there is hope. This morning I woke to a dog wagging his tail, happy to see me again. Cars still run on the roads, children head off to school. I know it's not perfect but then...this world isn't supposed to be. It is, however, still good in many ways. So...come, 2013. And I don't mean that as a challenge but more a welcoming invitation. Help me to grow - in my faith and in my character, challenge my mind, open my eyes.
Show me my to-be memories...
It is heartbreaking to see, though and to know that even if I manage to die before anything horrific happens and thereby escape true "suffering," my children or my grandchildren or my great-grandchildren won't. Someone is going to have to suffer for the mistakes we make. Too many bright minds lost to drugs. Too many neighborhoods lost to drugs, to unemployment. Too many families losing their homes, their jobs, their livelihoods. Too many children dropping out of school. Disease, earthquakes in "unusual" areas, hurricanes of such massive force they make roller coasters look like toothpicks... These are not new occurrences and perhaps they aren't even anymore frequent than they have been in the past. We just hear about them more now. Media and Technology have made this a very, very small world.
Yet...there is hope. This morning I woke to a dog wagging his tail, happy to see me again. Cars still run on the roads, children head off to school. I know it's not perfect but then...this world isn't supposed to be. It is, however, still good in many ways. So...come, 2013. And I don't mean that as a challenge but more a welcoming invitation. Help me to grow - in my faith and in my character, challenge my mind, open my eyes.
Show me my to-be memories...
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