ho hum

Man I have really enjoyed this winter.  Especially since the past two were to brutally snowy and cold.  This year's mild snowlessness has been a welcomed treat.  I'm not one to excessively comment on the weather, but seriously, it is noteworthy in its fantasticalness.  So sunny and (relatively) warm... not too shabby.  Currently, however, I have a cold and my nose is quite stuffy.  I was bragging about how I never get sick, and of course here I am a Rudolph. That's what I get, I suppose... it'll pass soon enough.

I've written many bla(h)g posts in my head recently, and I'm kinda bummed that they never made it to fruition.  There's a lot to think/write about.  Currently I'm thinking about this whole "a year ago" thing-
I could get pretty bogged down with stuff- I don't know why it matters, why anniversaries are a big deal-a year ago my car was broken into, its been a year since I last saw my mom not in a hospital bed, a year since we went with our guts, that kind of thing... and soon enough it will be a year since everything started going down hill with my mom... its crazy to think about, and it will be a fine line to tread between intentionally remembering and honoring the past and looking toward the future.  I  think that balance shouldn't be too hard to find, but it is something that I'm thinking about nonetheless.  All the more reason why I am exceedingly grateful that this winter has been so lovely.  God is good!

Perhaps that is the best thing to gain from looking back 365 days- remembering the pain or the joy and seeing how even in the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, I was always safely in the grip of our loving Savior.   Even if, in my sinful nature, I felt as if I was all alone, I wasn't.  Not even close.  Each and every time I was seen safely to shore through the storms and now I am enjoying the higher ground of perspective and experience.  And, while those things certainly suck to go through, they make me a better me and that is pretty great.  So even in the doldrums of death we can be thankful because our God is refining us in the fire of trials.  Good things.
I need nyquil.