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Reflecting on 2010

This morning I was awakened with tornado sirens. Yes, tornado sirens on December 31st in Arkansas with temps around 60F. Crazy stuff.

But how appropriate for this year that we're wrapping up. It has been such a roller coaster ride for me. At times I've felt like we're in the funnel cloud whirling around without any control at all.

And it's made me angry. A lot. It's left me asking "why?" many times.

I still don't have answers.

But this morning I woke up thinking of all of the blessings we have that can sometimes be overlooked while swirling around in the tornadoes of life.

The blessing of my family
I am so very blessed with a wonderful husband, a faithful husband, a loving husband~he's an incredible man, especially to put up with me! I hear that I can be challenging:) And my children are quite simply two gifts from God. I won't go into our infertility story here but suffice it to say that my sweet girl and boy are little miracles that I am eternally grateful for!

The blessing of health
We have been so blessed with good health, even a lack of the common cold, and I am incredibly grateful for that. Sometimes we forgot to be thankful for things that we *don't* have. And during these times of no insurance for Vince and me and only limited insurance for the kiddos, I am very thankful for God's provision of divine healthcare.

The blessing of being together
Even though I sometimes wish for a few quiet moments all to myself, I love being with my family! As a stay-at-home-homeschool-mom I have lots of time to be with them~even Vince works from home. We are together 99.9% of the time. And I'm so thankful for it! We have close family bonds and enjoy each other. Not all families can say that and I'm so glad that we can.

These are the *things* I will take with me into the New Year. I want to leave all of the soul-crushing junk of 2010 right there and focus on the wonderful gifts I've been given that I can take with me into the New Year.

I choose to anticipate great things in 2011.

I refuse to be robbed of my hopes and dreams.

I will not lose the faith.

God has great things for my family yet and I look forward to them!

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
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Kathy said…
this is a great post! I feel the same as you do ... I was just telling my hubs that even though our lives aren't perfect and we do go through hardship and loss sometimes, we are SO blessed and I'm so thankful! May you have another fabulous year unwrapping the gift of your family! =)
January 1, 2011 at 8:12 AM
Darla said…
Great post, Lora! I needed this reminder today.
January 1, 2011 at 10:18 PM
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