By Melanie Akin

Twenty sixteen is almost finished, another year for the history books. There are people that are happy about the passing of this year and some that are sad. We said goodbye to some precious faces and welcomed some sweet new faces into our world. There were changes in our lives, some were welcomed and a few met with dread. Thank goodness there is a Constant in my heart to keep me anchored to the Solid Rock. My life would be spinning out of control and my future would be dismal at best. What will twenty seventeen bring us?

It will bring situations and circumstances.  We get to decide if these will be opportunities or misfortunes. That sentence was not written by a person resting in comfort and ease, but by someone residing in uncertainty and a state of limbo. That seems to be how many people live these days, due to this world we live in, job situations or the plethora of circumstances that exist in our lives. We each carry our burdens and deal with our life situations.

We probably will not be able to choose only good things to come our way in the next year. Life hands us good as well as bad. There will be lessons to learn and a few to relearn. Don’t you get tired of forgetting an important lesson and then having to relearn it again? I sure do, and I hope that some lessons will not need to be learned again!

People that must relearn lessons are often called hard headed. Daddy of course had a saying, “a hard head makes for a soft backside”. It is obvious that he was talking about my brothers because all I needed was for him to give me the look. That look spoke volumes and changed my mind immediately. We are each stubborn in our own ways and may choose not to recognize it. Therefore life lessons must be repeated until learned.

There is an upside to this. We can’t control what happens, but we can control how we react to it. Our reactions could cause positive changes and delightful circumstances in our lives. We will each deal with uncertainty, heartache, and confusion in our lives. We will also be able to choose where we cast our anchors. We get to make choices about our reactions. Ready or not, it’s almost here.

I wish you a new year filled with possibilities!