Not too long from now, we'll ring in a new year. Well. I'll ring it in. The rest of my people will be asleep. What am I talking about? They're already asleep! But now is the time I look back. And remember, laugh, smile.
When I think back on 2016, I can honestly say it's been the hardest year of my adult life. There are a lot of reasons for that. There were some really hard places and spaces this year. There was anger and hurt and grief and sadness and loneliness. By the time September rolled around, I was just ready for the whole entire year to be over. Done with.
When I think back on 2016, I don't have a whole lot of good and fun to say about it. There was good. There was fun. But there was more heartbreak, I think, than anything else. Or so it seemed. I've spent the past several days thinking back, looking back, even though I really didn't want to. There were just some things I'd rather not remember. I'd rather forget. But the more I remembered and reflected and thought, the more I began to see God's hand of grace and mercy, things He did that only He could do in the midst of and through all of those hard places and spaces. I can see the good now. I can see what He did, what He's still doing.
Last night I was scrolling through one of my social media feeds. One of the non-profit organizations I follow posted a Bible verse that caught my eye. So I grabbed my Bible and looked it up because I wanted to read it in context with the entire chapter. I had asked the Lord to give me a verse for 2016. I was still waiting on that verse, and I thought perhaps He'd given it. But when I looked it up, the very first word my eyes landed on was "year." It wasn't in that verse. It wasn't even in that chapter. But that word . . . YEAR . . . nearly jumped off the page and landed right in my lap. And then I read the verse. Not the one I was looking for. But the one that caught me and wouldn't let me go. I read it again. And again. You see, it's my verse for 2016. The Lord answered and gave me my verse for 2016.
"You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance."
~Psalm 65:11, NKJV
I mean, just look at the words in that verse!
Crown.
Year.
YOUR GOODNESS.
ABUNDANCE.
And then I read the whole chapter. It was penned by David, a song of praise to God for His good and provision. He praised God for spiritual blessings and also for natural blessings (like rain and crops and such).
And then I looked that same verse up in other translations. The New Living Translation made me laugh and nearly cry all at once.
"You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance."
~Psalm 65:11, NLT
I mean, the words . . .
Crown.
Year.
BOUNTIFUL HARVEST.
But the best part?
Hard pathways overflow with abundance.
And that, friends, is my 2016 . . . a year of hard pathways that overflowed with God's abundance of grace and mercy and forgiveness and goodness and LOVE. I mean, I'm just all excited right now!
So, in no particular order save chronological, here's my top 16 of 2016:
ONE: Mason shot his very first deer! He was so excited. But you know what? He hasn't been hunting since! I couldn't help but laugh last week. Seth was planning to go hunting on some of his off days, and he asked Mason if he was ready to go. Mason's response was, "I already shot a deer." I mean, it's like he's "been there, done that and got the trophy (skull) to prove it." And he doesn't need to do it again. That seems to be his attitude.
TWO: We did a little renovation project, and Ellie girl got her very own room! She was so excited to pick out the paint color for her hot, hot pink room. And Hannah Kate was so excited to have her room back to herself. I can honestly say that was one of the best decisions we made!
THREE: Hannah Kate gave her heart to Jesus and called on Him for saving faith on June 10, 2015, but it wasn't until March of this year that she made her profession of faith public and was baptized on Easter Sunday.
FOUR: We avoided the ER in 2015, but this year found us back there again when Mason took a direct hit to his nose with the baseball. I still can't believe it wasn't broken! I'm also happy to say Mason's nose is just fine these days (and thank goodness because this Momma had visions of a jacked up nose for life)!
FIVE: We celebrated Hannah Kate's 5th year of dancing and Ellie's 1st year of dancing. Hannah Kate did such a beautiful job dancing her solo on the big stage. The recitals (because they weren't in the same one!) were so much fun this year (even though Ellie didn't exactly cooperate . . . meaning dance . . . like I thought she would!).
SIX: Mason totally blossomed this year on the baseball field! He finally found his niche on 1st base, and his bat warmed up a bit. For the first time ever in his years of playing, his team won the championship. He was also considered for the All-Star team. We were so proud of him on the field!
SEVEN: We spent a week at the beach this year and shared a beach house with our sweet friends. It was a perfectly relaxing vacation.
EIGHT and NINE (the birthdays, even though July could count for, like, four or five!): July is always our busiest month, and this year was no exception. Vacation Bible School. Mason's 11th birthday. Ellie's 4th birthday. Our 16th wedding anniversary. Oh my goodness. How do we even do July?!? I need to start planning for that right now!
TEN: One of my favorite memories this year is our new table. Because that's the kind of place where more memories are made on a daily basis! This post was, on a personal note, one of my favorites this year.
In the midst of the bad, the hard, there is good. The older children and I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Dream Center in inner city Baton Rouge as they began the process of cleaning up and cleaning out so renovation and restoration of their buildings could begin. I do hope that experience will stick with Mason and Hannah Kate. It was profound.
As the days wore on, we all began to realize that this thing wasn't going away quickly, that we would be dealing with the aftermath of the flood for MONTHS, maybe years. The work that needed to be done was so overwhelming. It was so hard knowing what to do, where to start. But you just took it one thing at a time, one house at a time. I had the opportunity to organize a group from our church to mud out one of our church member's homes.
Again, the days and weeks wore on. The weight of the whole thing was so heavy on us all. But I can't even imagine what it was like, what it's still like, for the thousands who were displaced by the flood, those still living in campers and trailers and hotel rooms and with family or friends. So I wrote another post. And, y'all, it was my most-read post of the entire year. According to my feed, that post was read SEVERAL THOUSAND TIMES. Yes. Over 3,000 times! My little blog has NEVER reached that many people at once! I was stunned, to say the very least. And thankful because I was simply asking folks to pray.
And, for those of you wondering . . . most of my friends are still in the re-building phase of the process. It's very slow. So very slow. One of them JUST LAST WEEK got her check from the insurance company. So, finally, she and her family can begin rebuilding and restoring their home. Yes. The flood was in August. It's now December. They just got their check. It will take another four to five months before they're ready to move back in. But that's the story for most. And, there are still many who haven't received the monies they need or are entitled to. So there's still lots more to be done here.
FOURTEEN: Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving in Georgia this year, as we've been doing the past few years. But this year was extra special to me. First of all, we hadn't been since Thanksgiving LAST YEAR. So just to be at home and with my people after what had been such a difficult 2016 . . . well, it was so refreshing, so healing. We spent time with my family, I spent time with my bestie. It was so. good. But, it, too, was tinged with sadness and grief.
I haven't yet blogged about this (and I will soon), but my Grandmother was called home to spend eternity with our Lord on November 26. I have to be honest. At the time, I immediately told God that her death was such a fitting end to 2016. Perfect. But the more I thought about it, the more I processed it and prayed through it, it was, indeed, perfect. Because, you see, Grandmother hadn't truly been "living" on this old earth for the past five years anyway. Her mind was ravaged by Alzheimer's. She died an earthly death, but she is more alive now than she ever has been! It was the day I flew back to Louisiana that I realized I'd come full circle. Healing was coming. Restoration was coming. As a matter of fact, it had already begun. I saw so much of God's goodness to me, to my family. God came close to me in a way like never before. But it took all of the pain and sadness and hurt and grief to get Him there. So, yes, Thanksgiving is at the top of my 16!
So, yes, 2016 was hard. But God was OH. SO. GOOD. in the midst of it all! I have to say He gave us the most beautiful month of December ever! It was such a sweet month for us, for me. It was the perfect gift from Him to close a year that, looking back, really and truly has been a hard pathway overflowing with His abundance . . . Psalm 65:11, NLT.
And, 2017 . . . I'm so giddy for you!