Abide

"Those who sow in tearsshall reap with shouts of joy!"
Psalm 126:5 (ESV)

Here's a short reflection of the past decade:

The teens started off with me teaching full-time at a girl's high school in South Africa. It has probably been one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life to teach young people. There is no greater privilege than to bestow knowledge on a new generation. The greater privilege was to watch the unique students grow into the formidable women they are today and become people to affect a positive change in a country with so much potential.

Potential is a word that haunted me throughout the past 10 years. How does each one of us live up to their true, God-endowed potential? How can we best glorify the one who created us?

Love is another word that springs to mind. God allowed me to meet the love of my life at the beginning of this past decade. We became best friends and embarked on many incredible adventures together. The greatest adventure - after getting married and moving to Germany - was to grow our family. There's nothing that compares to the endless joy of becoming and being a parent.

God blessed us with opportunities to be involved in different ministries and leadership positions. Finding a church to call home and feeling like it is an extended family is something I am deeply grateful for. Learning about God, my faith and increasing my knowledge of the world has been a continuous pursuit of mine. The time we live in has truly allowed us to learn so much on a daily basis.

My wife has helped me greatly to see the world in a different light. And so has our son.

A hundred years ago, many families had to bid farewell to their men and husbands due to WWI. Families were robbed of four precious years. Millions of lives were lost. It is a humbling thought that our generation has not had to endure the pain of war (at least not at home).

However, tears were shed. Too many in the past year. It goes without saying that losing a family member is always painful, no matter how it happens. It wasn't war that took away our loved ones. It was indulgence and the resulting ill-health. In turn, our family has decided to intentionally change our approach to life and embrace a healthier lifestyle.

We're going into the twenties with a renewed sense of who we are and who we serve: the great compassionate God of the universe.

His mercies are new over and over and over, and He invites all of us to abide (or rest) in Him. As 2020 draws near, my prayer is to plug into God more deeply and walk with Him closer than ever before.

God's promises never fail and I look forward to His miraculous, way-making power in the years ahead. The tears we cried shall water the seeds we're planting in the new year and we will build upon a strong foundation that God has laid already. As long as Jesus is the cornerstone in your household, everything you build will withstand the storms of life.

Last year, Ravi Zacharias shared a beautiful new year's reflection and I'd like to close with the same hymn he used - Abide With Me:

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me

 

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O Thou who changest not, abide with me

 

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness
Where is death's sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me

 

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee
In life, in death, o Lord, abide with me
Abide with me, abide with me

 

Here's wishing you and your family a very happy new year 2020 and God's mighty blessings on the decade to come.