By Ralphine Major

The gifts are unwrapped, Christmas trees are coming down, and decorations are being put away for another year.  Family celebrations of Christ’s birthday have ended as the new year begins.  2018 brings a new year full of promise, New Year’s resolutions, opportunity, challenge, and adventure.  Hopefully, 2018 will not be filled with as many natural disasters of historic proportion as our nation suffered in 2017.

The beginning of a new year is a perfect time to reflect on the old one—places we have been, people we have met, and the unexpected blessings that came our way.   It is also a time to resolve to do better and to do more.  Perhaps, personal resolutions are to eat healthier and exercise more.  Perhaps, they include spending more time in prayer and Bible reading.  Or, perhaps they include doing more for others who can no longer do ordinary things for themselves, such as walking to the mailbox to get their mail.  Maybe something as simple as slowing down life’s daily pace to enjoy God’s gifts and the many blessings he surrounds us with every day could be a resolution for the new year.

After all the excitement surrounding Christmas, God’s gift was a beautiful sunrise on the morning of December 26 as shown here.  Look for His blessings, and enjoy them every day of this new year!