2011 was a year of hard things. Josiah was born, which is a wildly good thing. But anyone who's ever given birth knows that it's also a hard thing. And the newborn days? They are hard for me. I am not one of those moms who weathers the tiny baby stage with grace. I survive it by the skin of my teeth. Sleep deprivation is just not a good thing for me.
And beyond that ... hard things. Hard things at work. Hard things in marriage. Hard things in our extended family. I hate that I'm being vague, but the details of these things are just not OK to slap on a blog. And still, I need to say at least that much to give a context for what I'm about to say. Because when I try to sum up 2012, I have to reach back to 2011 first.
2012 in three words:
God at Work.
This past year saw the working out of a lot of things that had begun in pain the year before. And to be honest, some of them are still painful. And sometimes I was exhausted. Confused. Frustrated. Disheartened. But always there was a sense of God being at work. Always. I literally can't think of a moment when I didn't feel that.
He was there telling me He loves me. He was there pulling details together in ways I didn't imagine. He was there giving me strength to keep going when I felt like giving up.
Moving into 2013, His work is still in progress. I look forward to seeing what comes from His hand in the next year.