So here we are, on the verge of 2012, when only a minute ago, we were on the verge of 2011. Time speeds up as I age -- or maybe it's just taking me longer to do as many things as I used to, so it seems I have less time. Time flies when we're having fun, and when we're slowing down!
For me, 2011 has been a time of realizing that, while I'm not old, I'm definitely not as young as I used to be! Two things have brought me to a more serious awareness of my middle age -- having an eighteen year old child as of yesterday (which today I'm realizing has a bonus feature... there's someone to share a bottle of wine with now and then!) and the fact that my recent dizziness issues have meant that there are a lot of things I suddenly can't do with the speed and grace I used to possess.
I have come to the end of 2011 with a deep love and appreciation for a husband who uncomplainingly does the grocery shopping and laundry because those jobs make my head too spinny, for family and friends who have driven me around because I can't drive myself, for my girls who have (mostly) taken over the kitchen duties, and for people who have called or dropped by just to lift my spirits.
Then today, some words of Henri Nouwen drop into my inbox:
Imagine all that effort [to defend ourselves against each other, to maintain or increase our power, and to safeguard our own privileged position] being put in the service of peace and reconciliation! Would there be any poverty? Would there be crimes and wars? Just imagine that there was no longer fear among people, no longer any rivalry, hostility, bitterness, or revenge. Just imagine all the people on this planet holding hands and forming one large circle of love. We say, "I can't imagine." But God says, "That's what I imagine, a whole world not only created but also living in my image."
As 2011 comes to a close, I give thanks for you, my friends and family, and the way I see you living in God's image, and I pray that living simply, in peace and reconciliation, can be our greatest gift to the world in this new year a-comin'. May we, and our communities, continue to grow in love!
