2017 Year End Reflections

I have been faithful to keep a journal since I've been 11 years old.  First, in a spiral notebook and then later on the computer.  Both have been a comfort to me over the years and hold anything from love and laughter to hardships and tears. A journal mirrors the habits of our mind.  It can be your enemy or your friend.  Mine takes me through the journey of my life.  A very long journey, 71 years in all; it may be a dull journey for some to read but to me it’s a reflection of the life that I’ve lived and am currently living of interest to no one but me and perhaps, some day, my children.

Every year in my journal I write year end reflections, sort of a recap of what was and is going on in my life. Sometimes it’s pretty dull but still I write. Everything in life’s reflections is based on the choices you make.  If you want different outcomes in your life, maybe you need to make different choices.  I guess I write these reflections because looking back helps me to anticipate what lies ahead.  It gives me a clearer perspective for the future. The state of your life is a reflection of the state of your mind and your spiritual life.

I can’t share everything that goes into my year end reflections but I can share this, my goals for 2018: they are pretty much the same as last year.  Develop a more stable prayer life.  “Those who always pray are necessary to those who never pray.” Victor Hugo. Be more faithful to read the Word and do my devotions more consistently for “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet.”  Psalms 119:105. Visit friends offering them an encouraging word for the Bible tells us in I Thess 5:11, “To encourage one another.”  

The miracle I would like to see in 2018 is for my family, my brothers, to be reunited with peace and forgiveness between them.  And I pray that the immediate family, myself and my husband, my children and grandchildren find themselves desisring to draw closer to God --  that would make for a Happy New Year.