As I think over this past year, and all that Christ has done with it, I am overwhelmed. Who am I that He should bless me so abundantly in spite of all the detours that I have taken from His plan? Yet like any good father, He enjoys giving His children good gifts.
Christ has used A.D. two thousand eleven to heal relationships and to continue to show me the man that He wants me to be. One of the most profound methods of these revelations is also one of the most fabulous blessings that He has showered upon me. In June of this year, through a series of miraculous happenings, I took the position of math teacher/assistant chaplain at Advent Home Learning Center. Advent Home, located in the beautiful Hiwassee River Valley, is a boarding school/group home for troubled boys, many of whom have learning challenges. Through this experience, I have, in many instances, been the student and not the teacher. Many of the character defects that irk me the most are those that I myself have overcome or am still overcoming. I have also been blessed enough to witness the Holy Spirit lead a couple students to repentance through discussions that I have had with them. I daily thank God for giving me the opportunity to help prepare these precious boys for not only their earthly lives, but, more importantly, their eternal lives. Two thousand, eleven has truly been an "Anno Domini": Year of Our Lord!
When I look back over the way that God has blessed me through this year, I naturally ask the question: "What does He want in return?" The answer is really quite simple. He wants me. He has blessed me not because He wants something in return, but because He is love, and He loves me as His son. But, as any father, He would like me to love Him as well, and so out of deep gratitude for His self-sacrificial love for a sinful wretch like myself, I commit myself, my passions, and my desires to Him. I ask that He replace them with His passions and desires, and as a result, I have been given a passion for the lost. And this brings me to my final thought: as much as I am looking forward to this New Year, I pray that it will be our last, and that God will continue to use me to to hasten His Son's coming. I hope that He has blessed you as richly as He has me, that you will have a blessed New Year, and that we will celebrate the next one on the sea of glass.
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