The beauty of hindsight

As the warm glow of autumn gave way to the stark chill of winter, I got trigger happy with my camera. There is just so much beauty. 

 The pictures remind me that life has seasons, each with its unique beauty. Each makes the seasons before and after make sense. Each makes the other more beautiful.

 So as I look back at the year gone by, I am blessed with the clarity of hindsight.

A letter to the me of last year:

Remember Jesus.

Don't believe everything you think. 

When the tears flow freely, let them. Leave space for lament. 

When you can't see the way ahead, even the uncertainty has a reason. 

When everyone else seems to have it easy, they actually think the same of you. 

When you don't have words for prayer, you're learning to pray with your spirit.

When dreams cause pain and confusion, wait for their meaning. 

When you have nothing to give, it's okay to receive. 

When all seems lost, don't be fooled. 

Remember who He is.

I wish foresight was as clear as hindsight, but it never is. In the moment of pain and confusion, I can be so blinded by my emotions, I lose sight of God.  Yet that is when I have needed Him the most, and He has always shown up.  He has sent the right person, the right word, in the nick of time.  He has been the friend who sticks closer than a brother.  

As I look back, I am humbled by my Father's tender care.  A friend said to me recently, 'He's the God of the curve ball'. I've certainly seen that this year.  Out of nowhere the setbacks came, hard on the heels of the last. Some solutions came just as fast.  Other times, answers were slow in coming, or didn't come at all and I wondered why.  I learned to wait, to walk in faith.  

For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay. (Hab 2:3)

As one year gives way to the next, I only ask that these precious lessons would not be wasted. That I would take them with me into the challenges that lie ahead. That I would trust Father when foresight is insufficient, and wait for hindsight.  Because He sees it all at once, and allows each season to run its course, mark its own particular beauty into the landscape of my life.