"It Was A Very Good Year!"

Zeke, my daughter's boyfriend, has a little 1950's Sam Sneed/Frank Sinatra hat. Whenever he wears it, I am transported back to my childhood of golf matches and dancing in the living room with my dad. Some Sinatra song usually pops into my head. Over this holiday, I found myself humming "It Was a Very Good Year" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymRNpTP1aO8, when Zeke donned his hat.

                                                                                                             

An interesting song, bittersweet and nostalgic, sort of like memories of dancing with my dad. Nostalgia can be a good thing, a comforting look back at the good things. Nostalgia, however, is also a bit tricky. It can be rosy and a bit fuzzy and there is a wishfulness about things the way we'd like for them to have been.

As I think about 2011, I can honestly say, "It was a very good year!" In my 'nostalgic' moments, I am touched by so many exciting and inspiring and fun things that have happened in my life and in the life of our church and these are memories I will treasure always. But, my calendar says it is now a new year. I am certain that, just like years past, 2012 will create its own memories, but it will also come with its own challenges and losses and difficult times.

So, I invite you all to join me in blessing the year that we just spent together and then turning to 2012 and working together to make this one a Very Good Year, too!

New Year's Blessings to ALL! - Laura Lee