It's 2017

The few days leading up to the start of a new year are often a time of reflection.  This year, or to be more accurate, last year was no different.  The media is filled with remembrances of the news highlights of the year that is ending including touching memorials to those in the public eye that we lost.  While I am saddened at the loss of people in the entertainment industry, especially those it seems we lost too soon, personally, I am still grieving a significant loss in my life, the loss of my dear mother.

While the grief is still fresh, I am also reminded of the goodness of God, who carries my family through this loss.  He took my mother gently in her sleep, and, though she suffered dementia, we were able to see the profound positive impact she still had on those around her.  He blessed us by allowing us more time with my dad, who has dealt with his own major health concerns this past year, to include receiving a pacemaker.  The very day we lost my mom, my sister’s second granddaughter was born.  That was a huge blessing to be able to experience such joy in the midst of great sorrow.  I also believe that through this loss, God is teaching me a great deal to make me a better person.

It is what I am learning (and maybe have been learning for a while) that I feel compelled to write about.  The good and bad in life are all part of living and loving, and I believe God allows us to experience both to help us become the people He wants us to be.  In all circumstances I know I have to choose to trust in God’s goodness, even when I do not understand it.  I have to choose to let “the joy of the Lord be my strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)  It is my hope that sharing what I am learning will be of help to others.  I have called my blog “Learning to Bloom” because I have long loved the expression “Bloom Where You’re Planted” and believe that through certain circumstances, that is exactly what I am learning to do.