Farewell to the Old

2008 has slipped into the history books. I can't say it's a fond farewell. I'm sure this entry will sound pretty negative, but 2008 really was a difficult year, and the end of the year disintegrated rapidly.

2008 began with the death of Dan's grandmother. She was never particularly kind to me, and her loss leaves an emptiness of a relationship that could have been. We also saw gas prices soar, and while that seems to be petty, it hit us hard, as Dan & I both commute great distances. After opting to stay home this summer to save up more money for another adoption, massive storms ripped through our county, flooding our basement several times to a pricetag of $13,000. I picked up an extra school this fall, only a half day every week, but it brought more stress than I could have imagined. Early in the school year, I lost a sweet student to asthma. Ten years old is too young to say goodbye.

But Christmas really takes the cake. No matter what I tried to do to keep my heart and attitude focused on Christ, it seems that circumstances, Satan and my own sin nature kept throwing curve ball after curve ball.

The Christmas season began with some strained family relationships. No matter how I looked at it or prayed about it, I just couldn't make sense of the way things were going. I was so looking forward to Christmas at home in Oregon. It was about that time that the storm of the century (at least the worst one in 40+ years) hit the Pacific Northwest. While our flights were only slightly delayed, we ended up being the only Frontier Airlines flight to land in Portland the day we were scheduled to come to town. Meanwhile, my dad was unable to return to Portland. (This was actually a blessing, as he was able to spend 3 more days with Uncle Jim and be there when his brother took his last breath on earth.) On another front, Dan's parents were unable to come in from Denver. They spent 37 hours at the airport, and right before giving up and returning to Omaha, they found a new flight via Las Vegas. Back in Oregon, we were left with 2 feet of snow and ice, with unplowed roads that were treacherous at best. The stress on my mom was enormous, as she couldn't be with my dad to offer support. Meanwhile, my attitude continued to be a constant struggle as stress, snow and strained relationships rolled into one big avalanche. By the 30th, I seemed to be unable to go more than 5 minutes without crying.

Now, 2008 wasn't all bad. We had some amazing times this summer on our "nonvacation", finding creative things to do as a family. My best friend came and visited me for a week here in Nebraska. We were able to take a few quick trips (some "business") to Denver, Wichita and Oklahoma City. On many of these journeys, we met some of our internet friends with children from China. The Beijing Olympics were a thing to behold, and gave Dayna much pride in her country of origin. My main school has been a pleasure this year. And Bible Study Fellowship has been such a blessing as I grow in knowledge of the Word and faith in God.

Still, I am beginning 2009 on a difficult note and praying not that God would give me a year without struggles, but the strength and faith to face them as they come.