Facing 2016

   As 2015 fades and 2016 looms, I pause and remember. I look back over these past twelve months. I think of their joys and sorrows, their love and pain. I see what I learned and what I should have learned. It makes me glad, but it also makes me sad.
   The year 2015 has been relatively good for my family and me. We laughed, we sang, and we learned. We also grew. Our family now includes a golden retriever, Cooper. Yes, I've enjoyed this year, but I wonder what the new one will bring.
   I expect joys but also sorrows. A part of me wants to avoid the pain life brings, to hid from it. I know I can't live that way, yet sometimes it seems like it would be easier to. But I don't do it.
   Instead, I trust in God, knowing that the coming year is in His hands. I don't know what's coming, but I do know who controls it. That is enough for me.

Happy New Year's!