A belated Happy New Year to everyone! I spent all the first day of the year on a road trip. I do mean literally all – from 9 a.m. to midnight! We were returning from a week on the beach near Savannah, GA., which was well worth a long day in a vehicle. We got the whole family down there for a time of relaxing, visiting Savannah, and welcoming the new year with fireworks over the Atlantic. It allowed me plenty of mornings to watch the sun rise over the ocean horizen and a few walks on the beach. We listened to the surf as we slept, lulled by what seems like God breathing. Sand dollars were found, and new Scrabble champions were crowned. Seafood and barbeque were over-eaten, and key lime pie ruled the dessert list. We discovered that dolphins still frolic in the winter, and Tybee is awesome in the off-season too.
With a week of relaxing and a day car trip, there was plenty of time of reflection on the year past, and hopes for the one ahead. Last year, I vowed to move a little slower and be in the moment more. For 2011, I hope to move even slower and be even more mindful of the moment. I like to think it is my growth as a Christian and my walk with God that is impacting this most. It helps to put things in perspective and to appreciate the wisdom God has given as I get a little (a lot?) older.
I look back over the last year, and reflect on what I remember, what held on to my heart. It wasn’t anything new I bought, or clothes I wore, or tv or movies I watched. It was moments in time where I held my family in my arms and my heart; times when I knew I had done a truly unselfish act, those times when I forgot about myself and was truly present for those I love. It was those flashes of emotion with my clients, when we both knew their life would never be the same – the healing had begun. There were moments of nature that grabbed my heart – cardinals in a winter bare tree, kittens being unveiled for their debut by mama cat, a summer evening’s sweetness, a hummingbird’s whimsical beauty. Even at my age, it is snow flakes on my tongue and running in the rain. I could go on and on, but I know I am getting soppy. You get my drift. It isn’t the stuff we have. It’s the people we love. It is being awake and watachful ready to delight in the beautiful gifts of love the Lord offers up to us everyday. It is right there for us to see, through the trials of challenges of the coming year, love and beauty to sustain us.