on new year's eve, as i served my kids heaping bowls of mac 'n cheese and poured black-eyed peas into the crockpot before sitting down to watch a Storage Wars marathon, i pondered the significance of all the celebrating going on in the world.
is tonight about celebrating the upcoming year? how can we celebrate the new year when we don't yet know what's to come? is all the celebrating in faith? or are we celebrating the year we just finished? celebrating where we've been and what we've accomplished, how we grew and changed and progressed? celebrating moments and seasons that are now past?
2012 was a long, trying year for us that had an amazing, worth-the-wait finish. i think in many ways, my family has been celebrating 2012 all month long:
discovering bike trails in our new neighborhood
Jesus' birthday cake
catching {artificial} snowflakes at our family's early Christmas Eve
my men in matching cozy flannels at Starbucks
first Christmas in our new home
our beloved four-gift tradition
celebrating daddy's birthday
so, perhaps new year's eve is a night to celebrate both 2012 and 2013? yes, that's it. we're celebrating with hope for the new year and we celebrate the year that's now behind us. the possibilities that the next 12 months holds, and the memories of the past 12 months. the excitement of what's ahead of us, and the amazing roller-coaster we just conquered.
definitely worth celebrating.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let Israel say:
"His love endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say:
"His love endures forever."
Let those who fear the Lord say:
"His love endures forever."
Happy New Year!
