Getting to the End. What Does it Mean? (Part One)

Getting to the end. What does that mean for you? Does it mean to the end of the workday? The work week? When your kids will be grown up and out of the house? Does it mean getting to retirement? The end of your life? What does it mean for you right now? Today?

Actually, it is not any of those topics that I want to speak on in today's blog. What I want to speak on today is, what does getting to the end of this year mean?

This year? What does that mean? What does it mean for you?

Looking over this past year for me has meant quite a lot of sadness in it. No, I have not lost anyone through physical death. That isn't it. Rather, it has meant some seemingly dying off from family relationships. A once medium-sized family we were when spending holidays with each family had to be worked out and planned after my husband and I married and then began to grow as siblings began to each have our own children. Mostly happy times, they were. Of course, all these years later, we have lost our grandparents, parents and yes, even a sibling or two through their deaths. But over the past couple of years, we have lost even more Our families have whittled down to very few in each group. Not physically as I said, but relationally.

Almost everyone has gone their own way. Not only families but friends parting ways over something that they don't even give a reason for. With disagreements on every side. Siblings and their own children cannot seem to forgive each other or just do not want to for something they felt had been done to wrong them. In some cases, an adult child cannot forgive parents who he felt had hurt him but refuses to talk it out and let them know what he felt they did to him and so they have lost all contact with him which has been very painful. Also painful in that situation is they are unable to enjoy the fun times they once had with his children because he makes it hard. In other cases, Alzheimer's is the culprit that has taken the relationship away from a family.

I speak of these things from experiences as in one way or another, we have had these happen in our own family. Time has built up a wall in some of our relationships and of course, we know who the real source of it is. The devil wants to split our families and friends apart. All of them. Yours, mine, everyone's.

And so looking back over the year, wishing but more than that, praying for those relationships to be healed by an Almighty God, a lot of it for me has been sad. I sound pretty dismal, don't I?

And yet God is good and in between the bad times, he throws in a blessing or two now and then. A rekindled friendship, a newer friendship that has continued to grow, this blog God has blessed me so much with and those of you that you that come here every day. Two unexpected Christmas cards came this month from a family member and a friend and other things have happened as well that I cannot talk about, but I know have been good things from God. Many blessings in between those times that have not been so great. And I have to admit as with this quote I found, that I truly (by God's grace) am not the same person I was when this year started.

And so what can I say about this past year? It has been one of both pain and pleasure. Good and not so good. Sadness and gladness. Because God is good. And even in our sadness, we can grow closer to Him if we open ourselves to Him. We are not promised that all our days will be happy and carefree. But it is in those times of pain can come joy through the One who created us, while we wait for Him to work in those things we need His help on. Because He has the bigger picture. In fact, He has the whole picture. And for those that know Him, He really does have our backs, even during the times that we don't even think he does.  He really does! Because it is His grace that is sufficient for us. Yesterday, last week, last month, last year.  And in 2019, 2 Corthianians is one of our go-to promises that He sustains us all the time.

To get through the tough things in life, we need our family members that we are close to. Sure. But greater than that, we need God. He is the only One that can do what may seem the impossible for us! Mathew 19:26.


What of tomorrow, next month, next year Friends? What does that mean for us? Watch for part 2 coming December 30th. In the meantime, thanks for coming today. I do hope you will be back tomorrow! Stay blessed!