His Mercies Are New Every Morning

"Welcome, child," he said.
"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."
"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.
"Not because you are?"
"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

It's always nice to round the bend into a new year. We remember the previous year and make plans for the year to come. Joel and I are optimistic about the coming year. Last year wasn't our all-time favorite, which may or may not be because we are getting old. Unlike our three-year-old nephew David, who spent an entire day looking forward to the animal crackers that I promised to bring him in the evening, things just don't seem as exciting to us as they used to be. It doesn't seem like that long ago that there was something to look forward to every week, and there was always a weekend activity or trip to look forward to. Weekends... I only vaguely remember them.

We have some fun things to look forward to this summer. We're going to Michigan to visit Joel's extended family for a week in May or June. Then, in August, we're taking an anniversary trip to Washington D.C., then visiting our friends Jared and Steph in Maryland, and going with them to Ocean City where we will enjoy the beach and I will visit the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. We hope to make a small drive to Delaware for dinner one night, thereby adding another state to our "Been There Done That" list.

Where has the time gone? I was marking birthdays and anniversaries into my new planner (a list that has grown extensively longer over the last few years), and was shocked to mark our siblings' anniversaries. Becky and Mark will be married seven years and Patrick and Tanya will be married five. Eileen and Steve's two years should be where everyone's at. But our anniversary trip celebrates the completion of eight years!

Our anniversary vacations are always the highlight of the year. Last year, on our anniversary, as we floated around the pool, at a Bed and Breakfast, in the 100 degree heat (it will always be the hottest day of the year), we were so peaceful. The best part is just being off work at the same time, which happens so infrequently. Last year, I'd be surprised if there were as many as twenty days that Joel and I were off work on the same day. So far this year, we haven't spent a day together. Next potential day off together: February 27.

Sometimes, when we are eating our dinner in front of a TV show at 11:00pm, we realize that we have just worked our lives away for that 30 minutes. We just washed cars and made files and directed traffic (that one applies to both of us), to pay for our house, where we come only when it's time to sleep.

It has been a rough year. Joel and I have seen each other so little, our jobs have been difficult, but in spite of the busyness and the debt and the everyday struggles that we all encounter, the best part of life is finding contentment by knowing Jesus. Contentment is often misunderstood to be achievement or happiness. True contentment is saying, "It's enough." Regardless of my thoughts or my will or my goals, it's recognizing that Jesus has given me everything I need for life and godliness. Joel and I have a wonderful marriage. We both have good jobs, where we enjoy what we do, we're appreciated, and we are able to be a model of Christianity to those around us. We have a comfortable home that's warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We have families we love and who love us. We have good friends. God speaks to us. We continue to prayfully make plans for the future. And when it doesn't seem like enough, I remember that contentment means praying, "You know best. You've given me so much. You've saved me and You know me. And if you never give me another thing, it's enough."

Beyond all other goals, the ultimate New Years resolution should simply be to grow. So that every year, we will find Him bigger.