All this week I have been dwelling on the good of 2010. What this seems to imply is an ignorance of the bad, but that is not the case. There is this ancient story about a group of brothers who sell their brother into slavery and tell their father he is dead. While captive in a far off land, this enslaved brother rises to become one of the most important leaders in the Kingdom, saving the people from famine. Unknowing he was even still alive, his family comes to his land in search of food. The brother seeks out his brothers and is eventually able to forgive them. He sums up the years in between their betrayal and their reconciliation in these words: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good..." Ours is a redemptive God able to take our broken lives and not just fix them but use that very brokenness for good. So with this in mind I say goodbye to 2010 and pray for the courage to see the bad of this past year as the means to something altogether better.
May the God of Joseph, the God of Jacob, the God of us all grant us the courage to hope for redemption, to hope for something better and to trust that He will take each failure, each pain, and every tear and make something beautiful. Peace be with you in 2011.
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