Tonight will mark the 105th New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City's Times Square. Jubilant choruses of "Auld Lang Syne" will be sung, a ton of confetti will descend, and the deafening cheers of a million partygoers will usher out the old year and ring in a new one. But for most of us, 2012 will take its final bow and make its quiet exit virtually unnoticed and with little fanfare. Some will embrace its passing with only a nod as they pull the covers more snugly over their heads while hoping 2013 will offer brighter days for which to wake up.
For me, 2012 has been quite a journey. It has provided exciting new avenues and challenges, sometimes tempered with dead ends and unexpected sadness. There were days when I thought I had it all together and others when I wondered if I would even be able to hold on for the ride ~ days when making a strong finish seemed doubtful. And then there were days when I wondered if the God who had launched me from the start would even show up in the end. However, in those eleventh hours, he proved himself faithful time and again.
I would not trade my journey for any other. I have seen my Lord in some of the most unusual places. I have been awed by him in the ordinary and humbled by him in the extraordinary. Throughout this process I have been changed ~ for the better, I hope ~ and yet, I have found my Lord to always be the same: loving, steadfast, true, full of mercy and grace, and ever faithful!
So I will move on! I know not what lies ahead, or whom I will meet along the way, but one thing I know for sure: my Lord will make the journey with me, and beyond that he will be there to greet me at the end. Upon my arrival, there is but one thing I long to hear him say: "Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21, NIV).