Hold on…hold on, I need a minute, or apparently, two weeks..?

It’s 2018?  How in the heck did that happen?  Yes, yes, I know – 365 days of 2017 should have been a sufficient “heads up”, but it wasn’t.  Not this past year, most of it, barring sweet moments with those I cherish, was a blur quite honestly.  There were a lot of health issues, a lot of losses, a lot of…”stuff”.

Don’t get me wrong, 2017 had it’s blessings, but I found myself wishing it were 2015 for most of it.  While I was still a recent widow and single mother, in 2015, I felt good physically, emotionally and physically.  I was at the highest peak I’ve had thus far in my life, despite the world’s expectations.  It seems I’ve been trying to turn back the clock, smartphone, or at least my trusty, paper planner ever since.  I’ve been missing the past two years of my life.  That is ridiculous.

At the close of 2015, I met my now-husband, Solomon.  We were married in 2016 – by far, one of the greatest choices I’ve made in my (then) forty-two years on the planet.  In early 2017, I had much-needed surgery to prevent paralysis should I “fall off a curb, or get in an automobile accident”.  I’d say that was a pretty wise decision as well, wouldn’t you?  I had attended a conference I’ve been aching to experience for three years, and it was nothing short of amazing, producing friendships with women striving to be more like Jesus in their everyday lives.

But since Spring of 2016, I’ve also been battling illness, frustration, exhaustion and depression.  It has been debilitating and for a girl on-the-go, that just…ya know, stinks.  When the body doesn’t do what the mind desires, it is pretty much torture.  I have a whole new compassion and understanding for people who battle chronic pain and illness, your determination is incredible.

So, 2018…let’s do this, shall we?  Let’s make a little pact.

Let’s focus on what’s ahead, not what’s behind.  Let’s sit in more sunshine and light breezes than doctor’s offices and hospitals.  Let’s redirect our family’s financial blessings towards others’ needs, rather than deductibles and co-pays.  Let’s spend vacation days enjoying fun times, not sick time.  Let’s read more uplifting books than MRIs and labwork.  Let’s dive deeper into God’s Word, and less on the internet searching fervently for “answers”.  And hey, how about opening more cards and notes than overwhelming medical bills?  Now wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Farewell, 2017!

I have hope for you, 2018.  I really do.  It’s going to be a good year, for more than just me.  Now, that being said, if you screw up my outlook, we will have words…and as my friends can attest to, I can talk…boy, can I talk.