Valuable lessons from 2011

Lesson 5: Even When It's Dark, There Is Light


I've saved the biggest lesson of 2011 for last.  It ties in - sort of - with all the previous ones (except for the cockroaches - it has nothing to do with cockroaches), and even now it's an ongoing lesson, with some of the issues still in the process of being resolved.  They have been incredibly hard lessons, and I've cried bitter, bitter tears, but I've seen amazing blessing as a result.

It started in January.  I'm not going to go into what happened.  I will just say that it was probably the single most painful thing I have ever had to deal with, even surpassing the agony of the divorce I went through in 1999.  It meant severe and immediate changes in everything.  In order to deal with the situation, we had to step down immediately from the leadership position we held in the church; sessions were held with various professionals, and eventually counselling was received.  The result has been restoration and increased closeness as a family.  The sweetest of all has been a greater degree of openness and accountability, which wasn't there before.

We took Catherine to start at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, in February (while still slap-bang in the middle of all this turmoil).  After four months of battling severely, she realised that the course wasn't for her, nor was studying so far from home.  She came back for good to Strand in June.  So many flustered "Oh Lord, what now??" prayers went up at that time, but it only became apparent later in the year when she joined our church's gap year program, Ground Force, that she was never meant to teach high school English.  All her giftings, her passions, her interests are geared towards her being a Grade R/Grade 0 teacher (preschool).  She's been working in a creche in our local township, Nomzamo, having the time of her life.  The other young folks on the course who went definitely did not feel it was something they would do outside of Ground Force, but they went every week as part of their program.  However, Catherine always came back energised and bubbling over at the kids and what she'd learned from them as much as they'd learned from her.  She would never have realised this had she stayed at Rhodes. Many other things still have to be worked out - work, finances, further studies, etc, but I have faith for all of these.

And that's the beauty of this year.  It's been a tough year.  Many of the things that have happened to us have not just had physical and emotional consequences but financial implications - very major ones - which have definitely put us on the backfoot for 2012.  But in many, many ways we are going into 2012 far richer than we could have ever hoped.

I have three children, each with different challenges to meet this year (jobhunting, driving tests, further education, matric exams, learning with ADHD and a nystagmus) but all with a wonderful attitude, and a strong sense of who they are in God.

I have a wonderful family - immediate and extended - who are behind me. I'm hugely grateful for the stronger relationship forged with my sister this year, and an understanding of each other that was never there before.  I'm grateful for my spiritual family, for members who encourage me, and those who are not afraid to give me a proverbial kick up the rear when I'm acting in error.

I'm thankful for an amazing husband who, though he sweats the small stuff and drives us crazy sometimes, in a crisis he is a gifted, sensitive, caring leader, rock solid and one that you can definitely lean on.  I'm grateful for his dependability, his faithfulness, his enduring love and his gentle but firm leadership.  I could not have coped with this year without him.

My awesome family

And I'm grateful most of all to my Heavenly Father, for having my paths clearly marked, for knowing the end from the beginning, for sticking with me through the dark, sleepless nights, for His still, small words of comfort, encouragement or admonishment, for His supernatural provision.

I face 2012 with a small measure of trepidation.  I would lie if I said I didn't. But I leave 2011 with a grateful heart for good, solid lessons.  I would be foolish not to learn from them, and be thankful for them.

Do I want to live through 2011 again?  Not on your life!  Am I glad it happened like it did? You bet!

Happy New Year to all of you.  May 2012 bring you all you wish for, but most of all, my wish is for you to receive God's gift of eternal life, freely offered to you.  May you know His peace, love and forgiveness as you start this New Year.