New Year Blessings

As we stand on the threshold of a new year, I find my mind reflecting on the similarity between the birth of a new year and that of a newborn child.  There is something so special and sacred in the birth of a child.  People gaze at the infant in awe at the miracle of his/her entrance into our world. Holding this child in our arms, is profoundly contemplative.  There is nothing other than the present moment and we know we are holding God’s miracle of life.  As we watch this child grow seeing his/her personality emerge we find ourselves begin to wonder ‘what will become of this child’!

It seems this is also the pattern of each new year.  We anticipate it with great hope and excitement wondering what this new year will bring.  2009 with the anticipation of a new president, there is a level of excitment not know for many years as the hopes and dreams we hold are put on Obama’s shoulders expecting him to fulfill our lives.

This sounds a bit like parents with their children, doesn’t it?  We hope they willl have all we did not have.  We hope they will become more than we feel we have become.  And we learn (if we are able) to let the child be his/her own person.  We learn to stand back and behold the wonder of their creation and evolution.

As the years have passed, I have discovered that this too is the wisdom of each new year.  The famous or perhaps infamous ‘resolutions’ that I can never accomplish, have been replaced by a sense of wonder in the gift of each new day, each new encounter with the Giver of all gifts.  In all the ups and downs of life, I have found this wonder fills my heart with joy and gratitude.  All is gift and I am so blessed through the graciousness of God expressed throughout each day.

Each year truly is new, special and sacred.  As you step through the doorway of 2009 may you find strength and support for the difficult moments that may await you and the gifts of peace, joy, happiness and love that will fill your life with meaning.

Blessings for 2009!