Our friend Doug has been waiting a loooong time for the right woman to come along. He finally met her in Nicole, and they were married this weekend, just a couple days shy of the anniversary of their first date, January 1, 2008.
Moments like this give me hope for the future. '08 was bleak for many people in many ways, and if you watch too much nightly news (I try to avoid it), 2009 holds the possibility of being even worse. And yet, there is joy and optimism to be found if you take the time to look for it. Happy things like the beginning of a new life together, or the beginning of a little life (ummm....in other families, not in mine!).
It reminds me of the writer of Ecclesiastes who points out that "to everything there is a season..."
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
There will be times of abundance and times of little. One follows the other sooner or later. So, with the dawn of a new year just around the corner, let's toast to new beginnings and the hope they offer that things will indeed be better.
I know at least two people who will say they already are..