In a nutshell: I wax poetic on the events of the past year.
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
– Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)
Today is December 6. In 25 days, we will be bidding 2009 goodbye. Quite frankly, for me, it’s good riddance.
2009 was a tough year, wasn’t it? The Ampatuan massacre, I think, takes the cake for absolute horrific story of the year, although the year certainly did not hold back on taking people from us. So many people died this year, including Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. On my home front, two of Cathy’s relatives passed away, as did Jessica Mapua, the sweet lady whose strength and character in battling cancer was probably the most inspiring story I’ve had the privilege of covering this year.
2009 was also a bit of a roller coaster for me, job-wise. In mid-August, I was offered a position at the church in Greenhills for which I used to volunteer; I accepted it, then had to take it back a little less than three months later when I was “strongly encouraged” to stay at the church in the Philippines where I currently work. I later found out – around two weeks ago – that I wouldn’t be staying here for long. Apparently, the leadership would like to move me to a different department, where the communications work I currently do is probably going national. While nothing is final, that seems to be the direction, because everyone seems to know about it but me. lol I’ve spent almost two years at this Makati church, and I’ve grown to love it and the people with whom I work. I love working for a local church; I can’t imagine moving back into “the real world.”
Yet, God’s will must be done. (If this is, in fact, God’s will. I need to pray about it more.)
Lamentations – ironically titled, because there is still a slew of inspiring quotes there to help you in times of difficulty – gave us, in its third chapter, 22nd verse, one of the most popular lines in Christian music, the central verse of The Steadfast Love. In a nutshell, it tells us that God’s love is infinite, that His mercies are “new every morning.” We can wake up knowing our God loves us; we can go through our day knowing God will take care of us; we can go to bed at night knowing God cares for us. That knowledge and that love keeps me going in times of extreme difficulty and duress (which don’t come very often, but when they do, I can sure get knocked for a loop).
When you tap into a source like that, well, it’s pretty hard for Satan to grab a foothold, isn’t it?
