A New Year

The other night, Brian read me a list of things that "ended" in 2008...things like Linens 'n Things, the McRib, Polaroid cameras, CD sales at Starbucks, Aloha Airlines, and Herb Peterson (the guy who invented the Egg McMuffin). It got me thinking about things in my life that "ended" in 2008. Singleness is obviously a big one. Married life is so different...wonderful, but different. I learned a lot about myself by being single for so long and sometimes I do miss the autonomy of being able to make decisions without consulting someone else. Another "end" is the belief that used to be in the back of my head that I would end up back in the Pacific Northwest sometime soon. I miss my friends in Oregon and Washington terribly, but I think I'm starting to get used to the realization that I will be a Minnesota woman. Thinking about these endings makes me a little sad, but I am more thankful about the changes that caused them. I am so thankful for Brian. I am thankful for a job I love and new family and friends that have made me feel at home in this state.

I am also reminded of a few passages from the Bible that point out the need for change, reflection, and hope for the future...Jesus pointed out that, "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." (Mark 2:21-22) It doesn't work to keep stuffing the old into the new, and a new year is a great opportunity to say goodbye to the old and create space for the new.

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him..."
(Lamentations 3:19-25)


So, farewell Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper! Though I never actually drank you, I'm sure you will be missed by someone :)