Happy New Year!

As I sit here in front of my computer on this New Year's Day I can hear the expression that many say, "out the old, and in with the new." I suppose as we ponder on the new year ahead there are things we might be happy to move on or leave behind. By the grace of God I am thankful that I do not need a new year for a new slate. In Christ there is a new day, new hour, and a new minute to make the most of our life. Unlike the expression we hear, I find as I get older that with each passing year the journey is richer. Each experience and challenge makes us who we are today in this new day. One step closer who God is calling us to be.

I just returned from a whirlwind trip to the United States. Two days seems like a long time to be on an airplane and yet sometimes it is a very short period of time to be dropped into a completely different world. A world that is filled with loved ones and sensory overload around every corner! I am glad that I got to be home to celebrate the life of my dear grandmother and for Christmas. I hope one day people can say the same thing about love and devotion when my life is celebrated. The time was filled with family moments, a few doctor appointments, and lots of snuggling of nieces and nephews. Now as I sit here back in Tanzania it can be hard sometimes to make the transition. It takes a pit of processing than to just watch the ball drop. I was not gone for that long yet there are changes. I am back to sifting my flour, the heat, and my feet being constantly dirty. In the stillness that sometimes I long for when I am in the States but now seems a bit lonely. The transition is hard to explain. Those are the human transitions that are made as one adjusts from one vast world to the next. I know that there is so much more than just dirty feet!

Psalm 119:14, "I find more joy in following what you tell me to do than in chasing after all the wealth of the world!" In this day and everyday I want to walk in God's truth. A truth when abiding within it makes my path to wisdom and purity the way I move about this life. It is the light that guides my path and the voice that calms my fears. To the unknowns of this year I find peace knowing that this day at hand is the one that matters. Following this each new day brings my greatest delight. In 2018 there are situations and experiences that are miraculous to my journey. I hope that because of my life there are miraculous moments in the lives of others as our paths cross because of the love of Jesus. May those continue to be our greatest treasures in this brand new day and the ones to come!