A NEW YEAR....

I can't really say that I will be sad to see the end of 2020... It's been a tough year.... filled with much loss, grief and sadness..... we've weathered a pandemic, the like that non of us have ever seen in our lifetime.  Control of our lives and  our circumstances have been taken from us...

We lost my much loved Dad and then couldn't even have the funeral for him that we would have liked...

Friends have cancelled weddings or gone ahead and had no one attend...

Schools have been cancelled and kids have had to learn from home...  This would have been unheard of, 12 months ago...

It has been very hard to plan anything, with COVID,  we can be living life normally one moment and be in a lockdown the next.  We can't travel out of our country and it is almost impossible for people to travel here...

The Bible verse in Proverbs 16:9 never rang truer this year...

v9.  We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps..

We had lots of plans for this year and none of them came to fruition. 

But as hard as this year has been, some good things have come out of it also... 

If we had to loose our Dad, we were fortunate enough for it to happen just as Covid made it's presence in Australia, which allowed all of the family to come say their goodbyes to Dad except for two of his grandchildren who were overseas.  We were thankful for technology which allowed both of these grandchildren to see Dad and for them all to say their goodbyes.    In light of what lay ahead, we were so blessed to have this time with Dad...

Even his funeral, although not what we would have liked to plan for Dad, the whole of his immediate family and siblings families were still able to attend his funeral..  Two days later, only 10 could come to a funeral...

There were other good things that came out of this pandemic,  families got to spend more time together,  we were able to have the grandchildren come and stay for a couple of weeks... People got to work from home, and hopefully will be able to continue doing this in the future...

We were all able to slow down and take time out to appreciate the folk around us and also our environment.  The lockdowns also allowed our world to recover somewhat,  cleaner rivers, and waterways,  clearner air..  For all the bad, there was also a lot of good..

Unfortunately, I really can't see too much improvement for 2021.. Already Europe and the Northern Hemisphere is doing it tough... tougher than they did at the start of 2020.  Things change in the blink of an eye.  A week ago we could freely travel around our country.... this week, Brisbane is in lockdown, and the other States have banned some of or all of Queensland travelling to their states....

What are my resolutions for the new year...

I don't really have too many,  I just want to work of relationships with those I love,  show kindness to all I meet,  be a bit more creative,  work on my relationship with Saviour, and work on my fitness levels...

I just want to appreciate all the good things in my life and live a life of gratitude...

This year I want to focus on living a life that Paul wrote about in the book of Philippians in the Bible...

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This is my goal for 2021.... 

For all my friends and family.  I am praying that this New Year will be full of peace, and deep seated joy...  that it will hold more happiness for us all and that it will hold good health for family and friends...