I want to thank you dear friend for the fact that you keep showing up.

It means a lot to me that you enjoy reading my thoughts week after week in my blog posts

When I started my blog last January, I pushed past my self-doubt, trusted God and took a leap of faith.

And now here we are a year later.

Wow.

KEEP SHOWING UP

I don’t know what sort of year 2016 brought to you, but for me it dealt a few trials and challenges along the way

My biggest challenge of 2016 was losing both of our beloved Labrador’s to Cancer, within just a few months of each other

Sadness now overwhelms me as I tip the crusts I haven’t eaten from my toasted sandwiches into the trash, instead of into my dog’s mouths. (They had perfected the ‘I’m starving’ look over the years, which I succumbed to every time)

But I kept showing up through my trials, just like you did.

Week after week

And I believe that’s what God wants me to share with you this year

The fact that through the challenges that life seems to throw at us, we are a tribe that just keeps showing up

2017 has the word ‘RISE’ stamped on it, I believe

God wants you to know that you have the courage to rise up.

That no matter what your circumstances look like, He is still Sovereign and He will always be with you.

No. Matter. What

Through the failures, disappointments, regrets and heartbreaking moments, you will gain strength and rise stronger than before, ready to face 2017 with a renewed sense of purpose

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, ready to take flight again with stronger wings. Ready to soar above the mountain tops and feel the sun on your face again

Psalm 40 puts it like this;

‘I waited a long time for the Eternal;

He finally knelt down to hear me.

He listened to my weak and whispered cry.

He reached down and drew me from the deep, dark hole where I was stranded, mired in the muck and clay.

With a gentle hand, He pulled me out to set me down safely on a warm rock;

He held me until I was steady enough to continue the journey again.’ (The Voice Bible)

Isn’t that beautiful?

It’s those kind of verses that help me to keep showing up

It’s those moments when I drink in those words that refresh my tired and weary soul

I have often needed God’s gentle hand of Grace to set me down onto a warm rock

Where I can catch my breath and feel safe again.

Holding me steady so I can stand once again.

So I can continue the journey again.

I’m sure you have too.

God gives us the strength to get back up again

Regardless of the Instagram posts we pour over and the glossy magazines we look at in the hairdressers, none of us live a perfect life.

And that’s why God listens to our weak and whispered cry in the darkness.

He pulls us out with His gentle hand and wipes our muddy, tear-stained faces and tells us to

RISE

Because the journey isn’t over yet

There’s more for you and me to discover

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that [God] ‘has put eternity in their hearts’

It’s talking about you and me, dear friend.

We keep showing up

Because we are brave enough to make our lives count

And my hope in 2017 is to show you that in the midst of our struggles

We will learn to RISE

Wendy xo