Somehow it happened. Calendars became a big thing in my life.
I have one as my desk blotter.
I have one by which I rip off a page & get a verse a day.
I will admit – I love them both. They have become such a part of my life.
I think it started when the kids were teens & busy. It seemed calendars “ministered” to me. My desk blotter calendar kept us all on the same page (no pun intended) & organized. I knew who needed to be where, when & at what time. I remembered appointments, birthdays, anniversaries & other important daily data. My verse calendar kept me sane. At times when I was beside myself, I could rip that page & there was a verse, a tidbit from God which would nourish my soul & keep me going that day. Somehow it always managed to speak to my need.
This morning I ripped off the last page on my desk blotter. I do not throw the old months away but rather file them underneath the new month. So this morning, I was able to look at them all. Something like this:
As I ripped off my calendar page on my desk blotter, I could not help but thing – December 2011. The last month of this year. Amazing. There may have been times that we thought that this year would be the absolutely end of us – AND IT WASN”T!!!! We made it through by the grace of our God. Perhaps in many ways, this past year was the beginning. Seriously.
Maybe the things we have learned this year are just the beginning to each of us walking in ALL that God has for us. Each struggle, each pain, each tear, each laughter (come on, we can’t say it was all bad), the connections, the disconnections, the challenges – maybe each one was exactly what we needed in order to go into the new year accomplishing what He has deemed for us. Just maybe. Just saying.
Realizing this, I thought: there truly is a holy beauty when we can see that the thing we thought would kill us truly did not. To realize that perhaps that very thing the enemy designed to kill us & thought for sure it would, has served the purposes of our God in our lives. Our God – Who chose us knowing all that this year would hold; Who loved us in spite of ourselves; Who adopted us knowing that we had something to add to HIS FAMILY; Who accepted us just the way we are knowing what we would become (there’s hope yet!!!); Who redeemed us and will redeem all that has happened in our lives to His great praise & glory; Who has forgiven us not because we deserved it but because He so loves us that deeply; Who blessed us because He delights in us. How amazing to think of all that this morning.
The verse on my calendar said this:
“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (Psalm 16:11 NLT).
This morning I am so grateful that we have God, who shows us the way. He doesn’t leave us stumbling & wondering. He shows us the way of life. He grants us the JOY of His Presence. His very Presence in our lives = JOY. How amazing is that! He grants us the pleasure of living with Him forever. And He began that in each of our lives the day we accepted Him into our lives & that gift is ours forever. Today may you find that joy & pleasure in a God that has found joy & pleasure in you!
Today it only seems fitting that I share what has become my favorite Christmas song in recent years:
