New year, New Growth? Or Decline?

First time to type the first day of the new year!

The beginning of a new year is a time of reflection.  Many greet the new year with a renewed determination to continue personal growth; focusing on life learning, living healthy, strengthening relationships, and growing closer to God. OR others face the new year with regret, fearfulness and lost hope.

For the Amarillo community, the end of 2010 was fraught with many unexpected tragedies and loss. In addition to these public tragedies, many face the personal loss of jobs or marriages, addictions, illness, or battered relationships – the list is endless. How can we ensure that we begin the new year with hope and a resolve to grow?

We can’t stand still. In life, we must move forward in growth or go backward in decline. Is the direction a choice? Can we choose to go forward weighed down with sorrow?

We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond. We can choose to grow through loss, to be transformed, to become resilient and take what we learn to positively impact those around us. OR we can allow the loss to define us. We can loose our identity in the midst of our grief and decline into hopelessness.

Loss is a part of life, loss is inevitable, but it does not define us. Taking time to feel and grieve is necessary for a healthy recovery, but this should be the starting point.

I have asked a lot of questions in this blog entry and hope to have the opportunity to process the answers in future posts as I renew my efforts to develop this web site.

The intention of this site is to encourage and equip readers to live life fully by expanding awareness and perspective of our insecurities and strengths. Feel free to share any thoughts or comments. My hope is that this site can bring together a community that will empower others and ourselves to live life intentionally.

Romans 15:13 best articulates the basis for my focus as I seek to grow in 2011:

May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing (through the experience of your faith) that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. (AMP)

Peace