Hope is always here.

So far so good: on this second day of January I’d say things are off to a good start.  Less than two weeks until we embark on our grand adventure to Kenya and our calendars are full until then.  We just returned from a driving adventure across the eastern continental divide and through the mountains of the east and now here I sit in a coffee shop working on my to-do list to get things started this year.  But as I sit here I can’t help but reflect on this past year: where I was one year ago and where I was as the year came to a close.  And that brings me to the here and now: who I am today and who I want to be a year from now. My darlin’ and I listened to a great sermon while riding in the car through the fog of Connecticut, and we were encouraged to inspect our hearts and to ask questions umbrella-ed under the main idea, “how’s your heart?”.  I can’t stop thinking about that question and all that it entails.  How is my heart?  How are my relationships?  Am I harboring any guilt?  Any negativity?  What’s my perception of myself?  Where am I going?  Who do I belong to and for what and for whom do I live for?  I think I need to get a new journal, ‘cuz it’s going to take a lot of writing and prayer to come up with anything even close to an answer to those questions.  But I tell you what, I’m excited to discover more of myself this year.  I’m anxious to see where I go and what I will do.  Where will Flewtstrings go?  What will I create?  Where will my heart rest?  What will God teach me?  Welcome 2012 with hope today: it’s everywhere around us, and it’s our for the taking.  Don’t miss out.