2016. Ah. What a disaster on so many fronts. Too much death, pain, chaos, and destruction. We met with our friends only to see pain in their eyes. We fought with our neighbors instead of loving them. The defriend button on Facebook never saw so much attention. The world beyond our borders seemed to implode with attack after attack. We witnessed babies covered in dust from buildings that were bombed. Just when we thought we would get through Christmas without tragedy, another truck plowed through a crowd. We lost a prince and a princess; childhood icons from our favorite TV shows. We watched our friends lose mothers, brothers, and grandparents. We visited hospitals and said tearful prayers asking for miracles. 2016 was no joke and many of us will say, "good-riddance" when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.
We are all dreaming of a more peaceful love-filled 2017. We are praying, wishing, and hoping for more life and less ruination. But, I think we all know deep down that this new year will bring its own challenges. For every year has its fill of hardships. Our expectations for the new year may be our largest obstacle.
I recently learned about Kintsugi. Kintsugi is a Japanese tradition in which the people repair old broken pottery by painting the cracks with gold. The thought is that the cracks tell the story of the pottery and should not be hidden. Most of us would like to burn 2016. We would love to forget the racial tensions, attacks on law-enforcement, loss of friendships over political memes, not to mention, the presidential election. We would be ecstatic to leave everything behind covering the cracks 2016 caused. A new year brings new promise. How amazing would it be to take some dynamite and blow the heck out of 2016 and start fresh?!?!
Too bad life doesn't work that way.
We are all cracked. Life is cracked. 2016 isn't the only time the human race has felt like it was beaten into a million pieces by a sledge hammer. It's what we do with the pieces that matters. Do we paint them with gold or cover the cracks?
2017 is bound to be full of triumphs, blessings, highs, and lows. We will face new challenges and hardships. We will crack and break once again. Will our cracks be painted gold at the end of the year or thrown away/
Our cracks tell our story. They tell that we survived and give onlookers hope. The hardships we face and experience each year mold us and make us better humans. Why not paint those bad boys gold?!?!
As much as we want to burn 2016, we shouldn't be so quick to bid it good riddance. This past year, while horrific in some capacities, shaped us and gave us hope. It led us to look internally at what matters and how we want to treat others. This year motivated us to get off the side-lines and do good.
2016 wasn't a total disaster. The pieces of the pottery are still there. They just need to be put back together with a little gold.
Here's to a messy beautiful 2017!
Love & Blessings,
Meg
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
We are all dreaming of a more peaceful love-filled 2017. We are praying, wishing, and hoping for more life and less ruination. But, I think we all know deep down that this new year will bring its own challenges. For every year has its fill of hardships. Our expectations for the new year may be our largest obstacle.
I recently learned about Kintsugi. Kintsugi is a Japanese tradition in which the people repair old broken pottery by painting the cracks with gold. The thought is that the cracks tell the story of the pottery and should not be hidden. Most of us would like to burn 2016. We would love to forget the racial tensions, attacks on law-enforcement, loss of friendships over political memes, not to mention, the presidential election. We would be ecstatic to leave everything behind covering the cracks 2016 caused. A new year brings new promise. How amazing would it be to take some dynamite and blow the heck out of 2016 and start fresh?!?!
Too bad life doesn't work that way.
We are all cracked. Life is cracked. 2016 isn't the only time the human race has felt like it was beaten into a million pieces by a sledge hammer. It's what we do with the pieces that matters. Do we paint them with gold or cover the cracks?
2017 is bound to be full of triumphs, blessings, highs, and lows. We will face new challenges and hardships. We will crack and break once again. Will our cracks be painted gold at the end of the year or thrown away/
Our cracks tell our story. They tell that we survived and give onlookers hope. The hardships we face and experience each year mold us and make us better humans. Why not paint those bad boys gold?!?!
As much as we want to burn 2016, we shouldn't be so quick to bid it good riddance. This past year, while horrific in some capacities, shaped us and gave us hope. It led us to look internally at what matters and how we want to treat others. This year motivated us to get off the side-lines and do good.
2016 wasn't a total disaster. The pieces of the pottery are still there. They just need to be put back together with a little gold.
Here's to a messy beautiful 2017!
Love & Blessings,
Meg
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
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