I love the ending of 2023. There were some bumps in the road, but when I posted “December, the best one yet” on my Facebook background picture, I really expected it to be that, and it was. If there are three words that could describe the things I have learned in 2023, they are grace, burdens, and favor. If I would want to title the year, I would say something like this: “Grace, Favor, and a Light Load.”
I experienced a miracle while coming back from DeValls Bluff this year. There was some rain when I left, but when I reached Clinton, it was a full, no-doubt-about-it ice storm. I slid several times but never went off the road or hit another vehicle or anything else. At one point, my car slid so close to another vehicle that I could not have put my hand between the two. I could do nothing to control the vehicle. I said, “Jesus!” My car slid over and never even touched the other vehicle. I felt the presence of God and his holy angels in my car. I still cry when I think about it. I was almost certain I would hit that car. It looked inevitable, but when I cried out for help, the help I needed was there. I know it was nothing I did. I was not filled with great faith, but God showed me grace.
I have carried some heavy loads this year. Some city officials in the town of DeValls Bluff, the city attorney, and a for-hire grant writer have for quite some time put every effort into trying to intimidate me and steal my property. They have allowed and possibly encouraged theft and vandalism. They have put notices in the newspaper that they were taking over my property. The most recent article said that they will start building on my property in January. There is also a serious interpersonal relationship problem between me and a family member–my one remaining sister. I had two sisters who loved me and were good to me. My sisters Vonnie and Mary treated me like their little sister. Jeannie has stolen from me numerous times down through the years when she worked at a bank and had access to my account. Most recently, when she was supposed to be taking care of me during a recent surgery (she was being paid cash to do so), she used the opportunity to bully me and steal from me. She not only stole from my bank account, she stole personal items such as all of the pictures I had in my house, a keepsake quilt, and some other items of a personal nature. God has shown me that I cannot carry burdens like this. They are too much for me; I have to give them to Him. I have been thanking Him for taking my heavy load and giving me His light one.
God has also shown me His favor in many ways–throughout my life, I’m sure, but I have especially noticed it in 2023. I have had opportunities for appointments that would normally have taken several weeks to schedule to become available much sooner. I have found things that I needed and wanted at the right time and at reasonable prices. At the beginning of December, I decided that I was not going to post a Christmas song every day but instead to post “25 Gifts of Christmas.” This entailed posting one thing every day from December 1st through December 25th that I like about Christmas. When I called these things “gifts,” I was not thinking about actual gifts that a person receives. The surprise came when I listed the actual Christmas gifts I had received and there were over 50. Some of these were small things and some were things I had purchased myself, such as the sewing machine I bought when mine tore up and the glasses I bought because I needed new ones, but they were still technically gifts to me. I thank God for His amazing favor to me.
My calendar may look like “doctor’s appointment” or “physical therapy” on the page, but in my heart, I have a record of miracles–too amazing and too mighty to be listed on a page. I am looking forward to another wonderful year in 2024–living in the power and presence of God every step of the journey. May your experience be that, as well.
God bless you, and thank you for visiting my website.
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