As 2023 Draws to a close …

As 2023 draws to a close I find myself, like many others, looking back over the past year. I have, at times, laughed hard and, at other times, cried even harder as life raced quickly forward. There were some victories, some struggles, some happiness and some things that caused sorrow and tugged painfully at my heart. What fills and comforts my soul is the knowledge that, through it all, I never walked alone. The Lord faithfully brought encouragement, support, protection, mercy, grace and love to me. Whether it was in the silence of the night when he was the only one near or through the people he placed so masterfully in my life I was never alone and he never let me down. Even though I am not where I thought I would be, my life is not what I had planned, my health is not as it once was and this old body is aging daily I know that, since I am still here, the Lord is not done with me. Because he is not finished with me I look forward with excitement and wonder of how he will use me in the coming year. I am so very blessed and with every breath that I take I am grateful .