December 31

As the clock ticks its way toward midnight and the dawn of 2024, we're settled in the family room watching It's a Wonderful Life. It was Adam's pick; we usually view it on Christmas Eve and initially I thought it was odd to be seeing it tonight, but when I mulled it more deeply, I realized that it's definitely not strange. Not at all. In fact, I think New Year's Eve is the ideal time to reflect on the simple truth that it really is a wonderful life. Not a perfect life. Not a life without struggle or pain or heartbreak. Not a life that hands me everything I want. Not a life without questions that I'll never be able to answer before I see Jesus face to face. But even in its rampant imperfection, it's still wonderful because it's part of God's master plan.

It's been a good year, I'd say. A calm one, filled with a lot of baseball. (A whole lot.) We watched the kids slide into their second years at their respective schools. We watched their friendships continue to grow and deepen. We watched our girl enter the final of her teen years and our youngest, the first of his own. We saw them continue to grow and mature into pretty amazing young people who impress us with their intellect and compassion and surprise us with their wit almost every day.

I saw myself become a little quieter; a little less exuberant and a lot less worried about what other people think of me. I'm not entirely sure why the latter came to be; it's just something that I woke up one recent morning and found to be true. A friend once told me that we stop caring so much about other people's opinions during our 40s and perhaps she was right. I'm at peace when I seek God and love and forgive, and that's enough for me.

As we enter 2024, I'm grateful for 2023 and for all of the blessings that came our way. And I know that no matter what lies ahead, our experiences --my experiences-- will be used to advance God's good plan and purpose for His people. And that's a pretty amazing truth.

Happy New Year!