REV KAREN: New Year’s Eve in the summer? Sure why not?

ON New Year’s Eve most of us think and reflect about the year that has passed and prepare to step into what is ahead. We exchange our Happy New Years with all who are close to us as midnight strikes and a New Year dawns.
 
Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my head. I am aware that we are in June and not January. But my sense of new beginnings shifted to June 26 when my mum passed away last year. All of a sudden a New Year began and the page of a new chapter was turned.  My sense of ‘newness’ has shifted from January to June.

My faith calls me to cling and hold on to God, who is constant and will never change. Take time and read Ecclesiastes 3: “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

Last week as I approached the anniversary of my mum’s death, I found myself looking back over a year without her – reflecting, evaluating, and thinking about how life is very different from this time last year. Yes, I have missed ringing her for advice, sharing with her all that’s happened, and our times that we would have spent together, but time just keeps on ticking. I look back over this past twelve months and wonder where has it gone? Time stands still for no-one.
 
Yes, we have missed her (and still do), but we are here, and we have got through. I think my mum would be rolling her eyes and saying, ‘Get on with things, get on with your life.’
 
We all have calendar dates that have marked the beginning of a new season in our life, and they aren’t always on the first of  January.
 
Change is inevitable. There are times we feel frustrated that nothing appears to be changing. And there are times we wish things wouldn’t change. One thing I’ve learnt is nothing is going to change if I don’t change. We can view change as a disruption and an opportunity.  Let’s hold on to what is certain and what can help us stay afloat when change comes.
 
My faith calls me to cling and hold on to God, who is constant and will never change. Take time and read Ecclesiastes 3: “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.”