Honestly, we’ve all been there. We’ve all had bad news hit us like a freight train. Bruised and broken from the blow, we’re left trying to make sense of it all. This was not how it was supposed to be.

When you look at the top picture from the Partners Dinner, it might not look like much. The growth is slow. The color is still very one sided. But you don’t see everything! You don’t see the hearts. They are changed.

I am known well enough that others can see when I’m down. I can’t pass off the “I’m good” answer without a follow up. I am known, and I am loved, and for that I am incredibly grateful.

The New Year is always a great time of assessment and goal setting. Most of us pause with the coming of the new year and reflect on all that has taken place in the previous year - good or bad. That reflection often leads us to take steps, if only in our minds, toward a better year.

There are many things in this world that vie for our attention. We’re all looking for some sort of truth that promises a good life, that promises understanding, that promises peace, comfort, love, etc. The big problem is most of those things aren’t Jesus. 

For many of us, Christmas is busy and is more about time with family and friends than those who don’t know Christ. Even when we make the time to set our gaze on Christ during Advent, it is more often an inward focus than an outward one. But is this how it ought to be?