And we've come to the "end" of another year.

Someone once asked me if I didn't think it would be better that the new year start in, say, summer time. It's always so cold out side this time of year and the holiday gets cheated a little because of it. Actually, I like it just where it is. It's so fitting, and so much like life itself.

When life comes to an end, the cold grave is what many think is their final destination. Indeed, it is for the body, which returns to dust no matter how we might pump it full of chemicals to preserve it. And yet, each end of year comes with the beginning of a new one. While the year starts out cold, it moves on into spring and warmth and the cold is forgotten, much like our childhoods are a fog of memories that get left behind. And when that year starts to run out, the days grow shorter and shorter as if time is passing swifter. We slow down, and the signs of the end are all around us. Eventually we come to the end once again, we've had our day in the sun. Yes, I like the new years time just where it is.

A sad thought. Even as you read this, on new years eve, you should know that many people won't make it to the new year which is just hours away. Death doesn't take a vacation. Some will get in accidents, murdered, or simply die from health reasons. Even this close, it's no guarantee you're going to make it. And living a "pretty good life" near to the end is also no guarantee you're going to make it. We need to hold on to the truth, as Jesus asks, until death. That means right up to the very end, without compromise.

Some time ago, I found myself the single parent of a small baby. I wanted to raise him as best I could, guiding him in the truth, until he got ready to fly out on his own. I asked God for 18 years of life. I wouldn't complain if I got 60 more, but those 18 were the most worrisome to me. I asked for my son's sake. Well, those 18 years passed by last month, God is good and granted my request. Along the way, he gave me a job to provide for that son. A good wife to help me when I might have fallen down. Great, godly friends and family to encourage me and help yet more in teaching my son the truth. God didn't just grant a simple request, he showered blessings down on me, for my son's sake and for my sake, too. I have to remember that - while I am asking for one particular thing, focused on a single goal, God is looking at the whole picture and filling in all the blanks. (Frankly, that's why I think sometimes his answer is NO. Because what I want is not what I need. Funny how I almost always am glad later that God didn't grant what I asked because things worked out better!)

So when I get to the end of my own "year", my season of living on this physical plane, and the days grow short and dark, I ought to look back without despair and see not only the current I made but the ripples that went out and touched other lives, too, and other's ripples that touched mine. Perhaps the time seems cold because of the warmth we have inside our hearts, and the world simply can't compare!

Randy