Let it go....

Hello!

First things first - lets pretend that it hasn't been since last May that I blogged. Lets gloss right over that and just get cracking with 2017 shall we? Awesome! You are so understanding. I like you!

On New Year's Eve I posted my end of the year post with a promise that I'd be back the following day with a blog post. Today is not the following day. I am already winning at a successful blogging year. Can you guess what my resolution was this year? It only took me less than 24 hours to choke on my "I'm gonna blog more!" war cry that I shouted out to no one at all as 2016 came to a close. As many of you probably did...I sat with myself (She is great company!) and asked myself some questions (Dear me y'all...she talks too much!) I took stock of the year that passed and looked forward to the year ahead with all the ideas and plans and regrets that everyone else has. But while most people like to sweep the old year out the door without much thought I always like to look back on it and find the good parts. At the beginning of 2016 I asked people what they liked about themselves in 2015. Here's what I know about 2016 as it ended...nobody liked it. I'm not sure that I've heard many people say that their 2016 was amazing. If yours was then please let me know. Mostly I've only established that people want their money back! Last year was not the right fit for anyone! So now we're here at 2017 and I'm asking you once again to pull something positive out of the year you're leaving behind. I think this year's question was a stumper. I asked what about 2016 made you proud? I'm still waiting for your answers. I sincerely want to celebrate you! I also promised my own answer so here it is...

This year I forgave. I always thought I was great at this one. Forgiveness came easy for me. Or should I say that EASY forgiveness came easy for me. The HARD forgiveness though...turns out I was not so good at that. At the beginning of 2016 when I did some self examining with the Lord...I was made aware of some deep hurt and deep unforgiveness that I had been doing a great job at burying and building on top of until all the things I was building began to shift and splinter and crack. I was building on a false foundation and the walls that we build on unforgiveness are never meant to last. All I knew was that I could no longer hold onto the deep hurt that I had been safekeeping and I could no longer allow the relationship that had so suffered from the hurts of the past to go unhealed. So without announcing it to anyone...without any fanfare...I got very serious with myself and my tender, faithful, very present God and I let go. I offered forgiveness that I had no right to withhold and I asked for it in return...and I received it with the love and grace that only a father can give. And I am here to tell you that the relationship that I thought was unable to ever be healed now bursts with a newness of life that I thought was unattainable! (That's a whole other amazing testimony to be told some day!) Do you need to do some HARD forgiving? Can I encourage you to give it a go this year? I know its not easy but I'm telling you that it is worth it. YOU are worth it.

2016 was the year I let go. 2017 is still a mystery to me but I'm open to the possibilities that it has to offer. I don't know what 2017 holds for you either...I'm just excited to see what you do with it. And I'm already so proud of you for it!

Rooting for you,

Keri