Last Days of 2023

Here we sit in the lost days of 2023 which just happen to be the last days. December come in a flurry of activity and leaves in a haze of satisfied exhaustion.

Soon the world will rush ahead to big and better. New and improved. Goals and accomplishments.

But for now I will rest.

I will sit in the almost and not yet of this week.

Almost a New Year, but not year.

Almost the end of a year, but not yet.

The lost days and the last days.

Organize, and rearrange, cast off and cast out.

I will assess and reminisce and re evaluate.

I will clear out my closet find space in my soul

I will make room, and then rest in it.

Now is not the time for moving ahead and charging forward.

Until the calendar turns a page, I will soak every last ounce of this year.

It’s time to grieve and appreciate and celebrate.

Lingering too long and savoring just enough.

I will eat too much food and sit a little too long

I will breathe deep and laugh a little too loud.

Dance with my kids with the music too loud

And rocky overtired baby to sleep in the middle of the night

I will look back before I look ahead, acknowledging missteps and healing wounds.

I will remember the sweet moments of nothing much and appreciate the growth that might have snuck in unnoticed.

I will resist tying this year with a bow, because there is good and hard ahead in the new year. Stories are not yet finished. While the year is new, God’s plan is as old as time. Time doesn’t slow down, but in seasons we can. In doing so we remember what has come before, as we look to what is ahead.