December 28, 2022
This is one of my favorite weeks of the year as we linger in the afterglow of Christmas. It feels like a sacred pause in which to celebrate and reflect on the year behind us. Slowing down can inspire creativity as we consider how we’d like the new year to take shape. It’s a good time to clear out files and things we no longer need and get organized for the new year. As we release and refresh, we make room for something new.
We’ve been conditioned to make resolutions for what we want to accomplish in the new year. I’ve tried this so many times, and it doesn’t work for me. I decided to approach it differently this time by considering what I would like to become in the new year; how I would like to be. I’ve had many people in my life that I admire, and have said, “I’d like to be more like that.” More patient, more brave, more disciplined….whatever qualities they possess that seem to be lacking in me. Being with those people inspires me to be a better version of myself.
In this week of contemplation, catching up, and creative thinking, I imagine my life overflowing. I consider what needs to be released to open the floodgates, and what I can become. I give thanks for manifold gifts and graces. I learned that word from a favorite hymn of my dad’s and mine: Great is Thy Faithfulness.
Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest Sun, moon and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
I looked up the word “manifold” in the dictionary to get the full meaning, and it includes the following:
1. a. Marked by diversity or variety
b. Many
2. Comprehending or uniting various features: Multifarious
3. To make manifold: Multiply
As I look back on the year, I see manifold gifts and graces. I see how I have been held, supported, and strengthened by the Presence of God through every season. This realization gives me a deep sense of joy, gratitude, and awe. Great is Thy faithfulness, mercy, and love, indeed. What a comfort to know it is always there for us. In this Presence we discover that our humanity is cradled in divinity. We become more aware of our true nature.
We will soon be ringing in the new year with a mixture of relief, rejoicing, and anticipation. We’ve been through so much these past few years; we need to celebrate where we stand. Let’s raise a glass to the brave souls we have witnessed and the one we are nurturing within us. Yes, we have lost much, but that empty space is the womb for something new.
Decide to become more of your bold, brave, and beautiful self as you embark on another year. Be ready to recognize and receive manifold blessings.
Grace & Gladness,
ej
Elisa J. Juarez