THANK YOU to every single person who has followed Deeper Waters this year.  THANK YOU for every comment and for reading the thoughts God laid on my heart.  This year has been so full of ups and downs for so many; I could easily classify the last twelve months as “unforgettable” and most would agree. 

I’m trying my best to close this year in a positive place by thinking of all the things I learned. This year has brought TOUGH times.  I remember sitting on the couch watching the ball drop ringing in this new decade, I was so excited and naive.   2019 wasn’t my favorite so I had a lot of hope for 2020.  Wow, things sure didn’t go the way I expected.  And, yes, I spend my New Year’s watching TV, no way I’m out until midnight if I have any choice in the matter.  

I feel like I’ve learned so much, it’s hard to narrow it down.  But, if I have to choose, these are the lessons that come to mind.  First, I learned that livelihood is not based on a job or a paycheck.  Yes, I know we need money to buy food and housing.  But, God is my sustainer and the one who provides for my needs, not the person who signs my paycheck.  This has been tested in a very real way in 2020.  Going into this pandemic I would’ve told you I didn’t put my hope in money or employment, but after being told our income would stop at the end of the year, I was devastated. It was a true eye opener for me to realize how deeply I depended on the “security” of a steady job.  Putting too much trust in a place of employment or depending too much on making a certain amount of money is like having roots in the sand.  They won’t hold.  The first sign of crisis, it all comes toppling down.  The dreams, hopes, all of it.  You know what lies on the other side of loss?  Despair.  The only “FOR SURE” we have in this life is the support and love of our Heavenly Father.   And you can take that to the bank.

I also learned I could write fiction.   I was so hurt because of some life events that I explain in the post Difficult Times, that I couldn’t write what was going on in own my heart.  Because I couldn’t write my own story, I began to write someone else’s.  Something totally unbeknownst to me was a talent to write outside of reality. To create stories that touch hearts and lift spirits.  And, a total surprise to me, as I wrote the stories, I began to heal.  They gave me a place to explore my emotions, and took me out of a painful place to another realm where problems resolve and faith wins.  I would’ve totally missed out on the stories God has given to me if I had been comfortable.  My discomfort brought forth something beautiful…beauty born from ashes.  I wouldn’t have asked for the hard times, but I never want to go back to the girl I was before; before I learned hurt really can make us better. 

Through all the sickness, health, riches and struggles, I have learned to trust in God’s provision like never before.  He speaks through our circumstances and weaves words of healing through simple stories.  He has, indeed, been faithful.  2020 didn’t look like I thought it would, but I can be okay with that.  This New Year’s, just like so many before it, I will be perched on the couch, egg nog in hand, watching the ball drop waiting expectantly for 2021.  I pray it’s a little less eventful than this year, but even if it’s not, He is with me.  And He’s with you. 

He is Immanuel — God with us.

I want to leave you and 2020 with the theme verse for this ministry and the mantra of my life…

“When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.”  Isaiah 43:2