I enjoy the start of new things.  I am filled with a fresh optimism and hope that whatever I start doing, I will keep doing.  Over time I have learnt that starting is the easy part – it is keeping on going that is the tricky bit.

A lot has changed in my life – we have moved house; we have gone from a household of five adults and two cats to a household of two adults; and we have changed jobs – now I work two jobs over four days.

Moving house was a challenge.  We had lived in the same home for over seventeen years and had accumulated much stuff and not all of it would fit in our new home.  It is amazing what one can cram into cupboards, under stairs, under beds and in storage boxes.  It takes courage to downsize.

One of our joys is our new garden.  It is a lush, quiet, private space.  There is a gate in the back leading to a park filled with green space, trees and birds.

As part of my new beginning for 2017, I have begun a thankfulness journal.  I have found God’s grace in hard places over the last four months.  How does one celebrate thirty five years of marriage when one’s beloved is unable to easily eat, drink, talk or even smile for example?  We celebrated differently this anniversary,but both had hearts filled with thankfulness to God and for each other.

Mercifully, Keith’s pain has subsided over the last two weeks.  I am enjoying our conversations, his cooking and a return to some of our favourite meals!

I am filled with thankfulness to our great God for hearing our prayers, the prayers of our family, our church family, work colleagues and friends.  I am enjoying seeing Keith’s face light up with a smile.

“This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”  Lamentations 3:21-22.

We have  tasted this truth in a deep and profound way.  However, I have also learnt the value of “calling to mind” what I know to be true.  Remembering can be hard.