Here Comes 2012~

As I finished packing away Christmas and organizing my basement I came across my dad's painting stuff. He has several pictures that were finished. I know because he had signed his name~Nation on the bottom. Some were completed but had no signature. Some he left unpainted. Maybe I will finish them for him. Losing my dad this fall has been a major heartache. To be honest~ there have been some hard days in 2011~ broken dreams and promises.

 I know many of you are also facing some giants in your life too. Some have lost loved ones, some have lost jobs, some have faced the  heartache of divorce.  I am praying for a couple of my blog friends who are facing cancer and illness. My heart is heavy with you.

In the Valley of Elah was a giant who ranted and raved with threats and vile promises. This huge mouthy giant who strutted along grassy slopes swinging an enormous club was ready to attack. Goliath~ a nine foot tower of a man who was the pride of Philista. He wore massive armour~ a bronze coat weighing 200 pounds, a solid iron spear,  and a heavy bronze helmet. This giant of a man was a terror to the children of Israel. For 40 days he had frightened them ~promising them destruction and doom.  The children ~ paralyzed with fear had resigned to their tortured fate at the hand of the giant.

But on day 41~the sun came up in the morning. A young handsome teenage boy stepped into that valley of fear~ fresh from the presence of God. Just an ordinary boy~ who was not perfect or without blemish. He being the youngest of 8 was the baby of the family. He refused to believe what he saw. Instead~ he believed what he knew in his heart~ the giant was going down. Goliath did not only meet David that day~ he met the almighty Lord of Heaven and earth. And that giant fell. Giants always have to fall in the presence of God.

We stand on the threshold of a new year~ a new beginning!  If you are like me~ maybe old enough to know that life sometimes is just plain hard~ you face 2012 with mixed emotions. Personally I am thrilled that I made it through 2011~ I wasn't sure I would.  I am excited about a fresh start. I love a new calendar and it is already filling up with Hannah's wedding plans and her move to Washington. The calendar holds the possibility of some new dreams and unmarked possibilities. But to be brutally honest with you I am sure it will hold a giant or two. In the unknowns there holds a pocket of fear in my heart where questions and doubts thrive.

The good news is that God knows what lies ahead and it is no surprise to Him. This reason alone empowers us to face every tomorrow with hope.  Everything we may face will pass through His hands~with his permission. He has already set into motion the defeat and fall of every giant we may face in the coming new year.

God is the same yesterday ~ today~ and tomorrow. He is the giant slayer. The days are saturated with the memory of Goliath's fall. We can trust that God is on our side as we face the giants in our life.

Happy New Year~ 2012