I Tip my Hat to you, 2017

2017 slipped away during a power outage.  We were a few days into the power outage when the inside of our dark house dipped to 40 degrees.  I told everyone to pack an overnight bag and we headed to my sister’s.  Sean was d.j.ing a swanky party; my kids watched the ball drop with their cousins at 9pm and fell asleep soon after.  No fan fare and no quiet moments of reflection (which is my favorite New Year’s tradition).

​I'm not content to let 2017 disappear without acknowledgement.  I went into 2017 with bleary eyes.  A year ago, when I prayed for 2017, words came to mind like “celebration” and “visible evidence of what has been internal work.”  I barely dared hope and I didn’t really have a reason to believe it was true.

2016 had worn me down.  My parents divorced after more than 40 years of marriage.  My mom remarried within months and my dad was dating and would also remarry less than a year after finalizing the divorce.  My father-in-law had a bad fall and brain bleed.  Sean stayed for an extended time in Portland as we teetered between fear that we would lose him, and gratitude as he recovered.  At the end of 2016 we were moving my father-in-law into assisted living in our town and helping him sort through finances, a house sale, and belongings.  We were pulling through an intense season of youth ministry, feeling like crisis and losses were coming too fast to process.    

---

Read More