This dawn photo of the last day of the "old year" reflects the challenge and opportunity of the new year. What will you make of this new year? It will be filled with times of light, beauty, and joy, but there will also be those moments of darkness, struggle, and sorrow.
The moment when this dawn photo was taken was a time of great beauty, but it was also a time of bitter cold. The days ahead will be filled with things that lift your heart, and with things that crush your spirit. How will you respond? How will you deal with the opportunities presented to you? The choice is yours. May you have a happy and blessed new year!
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Sunshine! It is amazing how the sunshine can brighten a person's mood. After several weeks of it being cloudy, what a pleasure it is to experience the light of the sun.
What is it that could be considered "sunshine" in your life? As the year draws to a close, people tend to become a bit more reflective. We reflect on events of the past year and we make plans for the new year. I hope that you will do some of that in the next few days, and I hope that your reflections on your past and future are productive for you.
I also hope you consider another interpretation about what it might mean at this time for a person "to be reflective". Are you reflective like a mirror? Do you reflect the world around you? If so, what does that look like? Do you perhaps "tint" the reflection? Christian thought says that humans were created "in the image of God" - do you reflect that image as you go about your living? This photo was taken last winter, but I still love the rich color of the twilight and the light of the moon on the snow. We are rapidly approaching the longest night of the year, and soon the daylight minutes will begin to lengthen. Each solstice is a reminder of the turning cycle of the seasons and a reminder of the changing times of our lives. Each moment and time has its beauty.
Today I begin another year of life. I choose to share this picture to illustrate this moment because of the calm and peaceful feelings it evokes. Many sunrises on this lake are more vibrant and strongly hued, but this is closer to who I actually am. My shades are a bit muted and the edges are sometimes a bit foggy - but it is a pretty nice way to go through life. Always be true to yourself.
"Deep roots are not reached by the frost" is one of my favorite Tolkien lines. I was reminded of that line when I saw this solitary, majestic tree at sunset, as it stood in this snow-covered field during one of these cold winter days.
Cold and harsh days sometimes confront us. In our personal lives we sometimes feel as though we are "chilled to the bone" by hardships. At those times I give thanks for all those wonderful spiritual people who during the course of my life have given me "roots". Deep roots are not reached by the frost. For the last couple of years, this has been the time of year when when I take a brief hiatus from Facebook. I have decided not to do that this year because I think it might communicate that I am avoiding messages about my birthday (It seems the omniscient Facebook has determined that everyone wants to be informed of my birthday, and I have no doubt that a few of my family and friends would choose to make comments about "60" ). I still prefer to be on the giving end of messages on this occasion rather than on the recieving end. So, in advance, thank you family and friends for any thoughts and wishes you may have for me. In addition, please accept my message for you:
I have shared in the past, my belief that: Age is a matter of the Mind, Beauty is of the Heart, Love is of the Soul. To that I will add this year that: Joy is of the Life filled with family and friends. I won't pretend that my life is perfect. I have my share of stress, health issues, concerns for others, and awareness for the hardships and sufferings in the lives of my friends, community, and the world. However, I also know how blessed I am. I am filled with joy. May you experience the moments, the beauty, the love, and the joy that I have been blessed with. Some of you know of my love of reading and my enjoyment of the works of Tolkien, so I invite you to consider some words of his and share with me in approaching the days and years to come with anticipation and excitement: Still round the corner there may wait A new road or a secret gate, And though I oft have passed them by, A day will come at last when I Shall take the hidden paths that run West of the Moon, East of the Sun. The sunset fires the horizon behind these trees. In doing so, they present the trees in striking silhouette. This prompts a couple of thoughts for me: Which is more beautiful, the light or the dark? Are you the trees that are empowered by the love of others? Might you be the light that reveals the beauty which lines within another soul?
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AuthorJoel Kreger is a writer who grew up in Minnesota, spent many years of his life in Iowa and Wisconsin, and now lives in Minnesota. His life experience includes careers of serving 17 years as a Lutheran parish pastor, working 18 years as a public school teacher, and now writing as a novelist and blogger. Archives
April 2019
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