New Year

*I wrote this post in a coffee shop while we were away.  It still feels so relevant.  Even now, after we have brought in the New Year with all the dancing I could muster...

Christmas is over.  We woke, we celebrated, we lingered beneath the lights as long as we could.

The day the tree comes down is always sad for me.  The anticipation is over, the event has happened, and the living room corner is once again inhabited by our knucklehead dog. 

The thing is, once the decor comes down and the guests leave, it is easy to forget what exactly it is we were waiting for--His kingdom come.

The Light of the World came down and put on flesh, but the truth is, some days still feel pretty dark.  I don't always remember what Isaiah 60 says:

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth

and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the Lord rises upon you

and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look about you:

All assemble and come to you;

your sons come from afar,

and your daughters are carried on the hip.

Then you will look and be radiant,

Your heart will throb and swell with joy;

the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,

to you the riches of the nations will come."

Oh how I long to look and be radiant.  You guys, let's be honest right now--

I am the poster child for cancer.  Bald, pasty, and bloated.  Please don't misunderstand these words, I am not looking for compliments or flattery here.  I saw the pictures from Christmas...and I started to cry.  My dad, bless him, is the king of picture taking, so he captured every wonderful moment of the holiday.  I, feeling very much like myself, smiled happily for all of them.

But, whoa, the reality of what treatment has done to my physical self really hit me.  I am not radiant in form right now...I look like I have cancer.

So, my corner is dark, my body is new and odd--what will I do?

I will arise, shine as brightly as I can, and wait for the Lord's glory, that's what.

Today, I choose to be radiant and have a heart swollen with joy.  

I hope the same for you.

Happy 2016 friends...may it be so!