As we reflect back
over this past year, there are so many things I wish I could re-do, re-think,
do better. It's easy to get caught in this line of thinking and not
ponder on all that God has done and is doing. We had a rough
year. Things didn't go the way we thought they would or expect.
We questioned God's calling us back and at times will to keep pushing
forward. But maybe, just maybe God used the initial reasoning to call us
back and has something grander, something that is not our
own doing but His. I am amazed at the surprises He blesses us with along
the way. And He delights in you and I and wants to surprise us. I
think God doesn't allow us to see too far into the future because we
lose sight of the present. Not to mention we wouldn't be able to
handle it. If I would have known what I know now about the last year, I
wonder if I would have been so willing to answer His call on my life.
We took in and treated a malnourished child for close to three months,
raised four teenage girls, loved an abandoned baby, and tried our best to live
out "love your neighbour as yourself" that Jesus so
often spoke of. I have been more sick in the last year and cried more
tears (of sorrow and joy) than ever before.
In the quietness
of these moments before the company comes, and the fireworks explode in the
night air to ring in the new year, I want to stop. I want to give glory and praise to our Father
who sees all things and in all things makes things new. I have been too busy and distracted
lately. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” And when things seem tough and like I don’t
feel like I have the energy, He says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by
such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and
the sin that so easily entangles. And
let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
I
As 2015 is upon
us, God breathes hope into our lives. Hope that carries us through.
Hope that this world will be a better place, that His message will reach
the unsaved, that we have another year ahead full of opportunity to live out
what Jesus has called us to.
Good morning, how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because through them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are very small countries with very few population, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this, I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Guatemala? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Guatemala in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally, I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez