Recently I went on the record proclaiming 2017 a dumpster fire. And I stand by that. It was an incredibly difficult year for me. There were rejections. Health scares. Personal crises. I cried a lot. I screamed a lot. Buried myself under the covers of my bed and vowed to never, ever come out of my room.
But I did come out of my room. Because you always do.
Then New Year’s eve came, I counted down, I stood in the yard with my friend and we toasted and sang as much as we could remember of “Auld Lang Syne,” and I bid 2017 goodbye. Good riddance. Bring on 2018!
Guys. You may be shocked by this. But flipping the calendar did not magically make everything in my life better.
I joke, but not really. Because I think that deep down I thought that a new year would somehow erase all of afflictions the previous 12 months had brought.
There is certainly something beautiful about the fresh start of a new year. And I am still holding tight to that. But it would be foolishness to pretend like the challenges of 2017 didn’t happen. I bear the scars of 2017. But I also bear the lessons of 2017.
I thought of that this morning at church. One of the songs we sometimes sing has the lyric “When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory…”
And my tired little heart cried out, yes! That’s it!
My afflictions did not disappear in 2018. But they can be eclipsed by something greater. Bigger. Lovelier. By glory.
I need to let the glory of 2018 overshadow the trials.. Because the trials will come. I do pray and hope they are not as relentless as they felt last year. I am longing for a year of rest and rebuilding. But when bad things happen, may they dwell in the shadow of the good.
May fear be eclipsed by boldness.
Sickness eclipsed by healing.
Loneliness eclipsed by friendship.
Insecurity eclipsed by reassurance.
And most importantly…
Hate eclipsed by love.