Dear 2015.

Dear 2015,

Tonight while cooking dinner, I dropped a plate. It fell almost in slow motion. I knew it was going down, but there was nothing I could do to prevent the fall. As it hit the ground, I held my breath, waiting for the unavoidable crash. Sure enough, the plate broke into many pieces.  2015, I looked down at the broken pieces of glass on our kitchen floor and it occurred to me that you could best be summed up with a picture of this broken plate.

As broken as I felt this year –from a job layoff, death, emptiness like I can’t explain and watching my very best friend go to war with cancer- I can honestly say that I have never felt more close to God. My faith has been shaken, bent and bruised, but through every storm, there has been a peace. The Bible clearly tells us that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and because of you 2015, I believe that now more than ever.

Now, 2015, you have been full of some wonderful moments, too. Drew and I visited my most favorite place in the world twice (one of those times with a special princess and her daddy). I finished graduate school, and was blessed with several job offers. I gladly accepted a position that I had peace about, and even though most days feel very heavy, I am so thankful for the students (and coworkers) that have been placed in my path. They truly are one of my greatest blessings in life. I’ve successfully been a wife for an entire year, and even though I haven’t mastered laundry for two, I have become a pro at making my hubs a sandwich.

But back to my broken plate (thankfully, it wasn’t one that was a part of our “fancy” set).  It’s all cleaned up now, but as I was sweeping the fragments of this plate into our dustpan, I began to think of the brokenness all around me - from the students that I talk with on a daily basis, to the entire state of the world, and so much more.  But what I have learned, 2015, is that brokenness leads us to redemption. One meaning of redemption is to gain something back, and well, 2015, I feel like you took a lot from me.  But, this next year is going to be different; it is going to be my year of redemption.  

Goodbye, 2015.

 

Dear friend, if have felt the same brokenness that I have during 2015, I encourage you to allow 2016 to also be your year of redemption. Lauren Diagle, one of my favorite Christian artist, says it best in her song Power to Redeem.

"Rejoice oh child of God
Lift your eyes to see
With every morning light,
Again we are redeemed"

Wake up to tomorrow’s morning light, the first day of a brand new year, knowing that you are redeemed! Whatever was taken from you in 2015, you are gaining back in 2016. Gain it all back - joy, peace, prosperity, comfort, self-confidence, dreams that you thought were shattered. Take it all!

 

Happy New Year, y'all!