Now, Beginnings

Finally I get around to writing another post. Not only is it several days into the new year, but also almost two weeks since I last posted. Pretty much the longest I've ever been between posts. Which in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but at this particular time of year, it seems more important. Because it's the New Year, and a time for reflection, it seems that the longer I leave it between posts, the harder it is to write.

And so, one year ends, and another begins. Traditionally a time for taking stock and new beginnings, that sort of thing. Well, there's certainly some new things in my life-quite a few from Christmas. I am currently wearing new socks (marked Tuesday) and sleeping in new bedclothes, among other things. As well as reading new books (of course there would be books). All of which is good, and which I am enjoying; but not really the sort of new things people remember about this time of year.
What people remember is new ideas, new opportunities; even new outlooks on life. As we look back on the good and bad things that happened over the last year, we can see what worked, as it were, and look at the decisions we should make in order to keep going in that direction. And over the past couple of weeks, I've had plenty of inspiration to think about it. In a lot of ways, my life went on pretty much as normal, though there were some pretty amazing things that went on in 2012, such as going to Kenya to do some building work. That was absolutely fantastic, something I will remember for a long time-and I would definitely like to go back. I also signed up to support a child in Kenya through Compassion UK, an 8 year old boy called Benjamin, so I won't ever forget it-maybe someday, I'll be able to meet him. I went to New Wine to help in the art gallery, which was great fun. And actually really relaxing to be around people who were interested in art and creativity, as I don't meet too many. I also wanted to get back into being creative myself, to do some more writing-which worked a bit. The main way that happened was through this blog, which in itself was a great thing, as I've been thinking about doing one for ages, and now I've finally started.
I'm not sure how many of those things I would really have been able to visualise happening the year before. And at the moment, I feel the same way-that I don't really know what is going to happen this year. I have no idea, but I know something is-and I have no doubt that when I look back at the beginning of next year, I'll have some things that I honestly can't visualise right now. I know God can do more than I could ever ask or imagine, and definitely some different things. As long as I'm willing to follow where He leads, I will end up with some very surprising memories.

I look forward to that, and at least having some new things around me at the moment may help remind me of that as the year goes on.