Suck it, 2012

Today my heart is full.  Full of hope.  Full of joy.  Full of expectancy.

It is officially 2013, and I have been looking forward to this year!  You see, 2012 sucked.  Pretty much from start to finish it was full of trials and failures.  I kinda knew it was coming, as expressed in a blog post from a year and a half ago.  Here's a quote from that post:

"Since finally letting go of the death grip I had on worship leading, I have felt a peace that I haven't experienced in quite some time. I am beyond certain that God has some major things to deposit into my heart. I also think there are some things He needs to flush out of my heart.
I mentioned before in one of my other posts about this is that I am not going to "limit" God by putting any expectations on this time of what I think He should do. I do want to keep my heart in a constant state of submission."

Um, yeah...I had no idea how prophetic that "flush things out of my heart" was.  *Insert awkward chuckle here.*

What I love about a life following God is that it is full of highs and lows.  Times of blessing, times of trials.  It ebbs and it flows according to whatever it is God wants to accomplish in our lives.  And no matter what our reactions to our circumstances, God is ALWAYS right in the midst of it.  He ALWAYS knows every detail of every situation.  And sometimes He lifts His hand of blessing and protection so that we can experience things that will eventually draw us closer to Him.  And in the midst of it, it sucks.  You don't quite know how bad that "Refiner's fire" burns until you're in the pot.  And that was 2012 in a nutshell.

But oh-for-joy there is hope.  Hope that none of it was in vain.  That every trial and every failure is flushing things out of my heart, and drawing me closer to Jesus.  I've already seen the fruit of that, and I have a heart full of hope that 2013 will be full of bearing that fruit.

I ran into this bible verse by happenstance, and it is sticking with me.

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
    nor his ear too dull to hear."

Isaiah 59:1 

I love the thought that God's arm is longer than any hole we find ourselves in...and He is mighty to reach down and swoop us out.

I heard this song while driving home from skiing with my beloved husband.  It too is sticking with me.

Oh yes, He takes what is ugly (2012) and turns them into beautiful things.  Because that is just what He does.

So 2013, I am hoping for all kinds of beauty.  I am walking into you with a heart full of hope and joy.  You will not find me making resolutions, but you will find me on my knees before the Lord asking for His will to be done.  And in the midst of that you will find me loving my husband more, taking more joy in my kids, being a better friend.  I will also be taking better care of myself physically, mentally, spiritually in order to accomplish these things to the best of my ability.

I am beyond blessed, and I have every reason to grab hold of those blessings and live life to the absolute fullest.  Thank you Lord!