New Year, New Everything

This is my first blog post for the year 2024. I love the feeling of a fresh start to a new year and I happily embrace the feeling of launching out into brand new territory. None of us have ever been this far before, after all. It's a new year, a new everything. The weeks leading up to the conclusion of the year 2023 were interesting to me, to say the least, and so far, the first week of 2024 has been a pleasant adventure as well, already stretching my sense of possibility far into the future. I find contentedness in living in the moment and I spend a lot of moments living in a very tiny space I won't get into details about, but rest assured I am warm, cozy and feeling just fine. Everything is going relatively well so far this year, but in truth I feel the real trick is to just not think about it too much. Just take each day as it comes along and appreciate the gifts within it, and there are many. 

In a state of exasperation, I made a trip to the local Walmart in the fall of 2023. I was mired in conflict so complex there was no sorting it out and I knew it. I became introspective and prayerful. I focused on the moment and in that particular moment the need to purchase incense and candles presented itself so I jumped in my car and drove to Walmart. Immersed in the decisions I needed to make regarding these commodities, I was utterly surprised when I was approached by a handsome guy with a lovely smile who had just arrived in my part of the world from very far away. He towered over me (he's very tall!) and asked me a few questions (I'm very short!) and then proceeded to ask me for my phone number. You know what I mean? That old-fashioned thing guys used to do? Something told me to just go ahead and give him a chance, so I did. I gave him my number and he actually called and I actually answered. We hit it off immediately and have formed a solid friendship over the span of several weeks, it is now lasting on into the new year and I find myself feeling grateful. It is a mysterious event that seemed to come out of nowhere but it is a turn of events that has put a smile on my face more than once. My new friend has brightened my day and brought my heart back to life after a very cold and lonely time. Mired in a sea of rumours, gossip, and misunderstandings, this last year brought divorce and disputes, divisiveness and disappointment. However, it also brought me a friend, right at the eleventh hour–God's favourite time of day. 

I really haven't got much else to say tonight, but I wanted to post this update. It feels good to know my circle of friends is widening, I am no longer as alone as I once was, which is fantastic. My New Year's prayer for myself is to learn to let the good things in. Let the good people get close to me. I feel the walls I've built around myself begin to melt. I feel God's grace rising up through the channels of my life like a mist on the river a cool summer's morning. As the mist rises, a whole new world is revealed. Sunlight glimmers upon the clearing waters. Hope springs eternal, everlasting to everlasting. God is good.