The End is Nigh!

Well, 2016 is almost over. Soon it shall be 2017 and I will have a hard time dating all my letters. (When you try to turn a 6 into a 7 it looks an awful lot like an 8.)

A lot of people are claiming 2016 was some sort of dreadful catastrophe. I'll be the first to admit that there were a lot of pretty bad things that happened. The election, for one (if you're an American). But honestly, we lived through all the other elections, and we've voted in some pretty wretched presidents before now and we've lived through them, so we'll batten down the hatches and do it again.

There were terrorist attacks. There were shootings. There were earthquakes. There were riots. There were epidemics.

I'm not really a person who keeps up with celebrities, but several famous people have died this year. A lot of people looked up to them and are grieving now.

There were personal tragedies as well. In our own church we have had several deaths. People have lost jobs. Someone broke their foot. There were a few surgeries. Earlier this year our dog died of nicotine poisoning (smoking kills, people). My family moved twice. My uncle's family lost just about everything when their house burned down.

I know the phrase "God is in control" can get a little worn, but it's true. He is in control, planning things our tiny, finite, little human minds can't comprehend. It's a bigger picture than we can see. And it may involve suffering. It may involve our suffering, but there is still a bigger picture that is far grander and more beautiful than we could ever imagine.

Good things happened this year too. We moved closer to family. A new cousin was born to my family. My Dead Grandma (there's a story to her nickname that I'll have to write sometime) had a successful surgery and recovered in record time. Some of our cousins came to visit not long after we moved and helped us decorate for Christmas. One of my Aunts gave me all her clay and a big tub of things to go with it and now that I have a toaster oven I can start learning to make clay jewelry.

I also discovered some new books this year to add to my shelf. Which is good because I can add new authors to my list of favorite authors. (Which is a real list, by the way. There are forty-seven names on the list, if I remember correctly. I made it to prove to my Excellent Mother that I read more than just Austen and Tolkien.)

I reached my goal of reading over a hundred books this year with a total of 118, and there might be one or two more before the month is out. We shall wait and see.

I also found a blog that so inspired me that I started my own. Wonderland Creek is such fun. Naomi Sarah is so sweet and her blog is adorable and uplifting. I can absolutely recommend it. (Also it's gorgeous. I feel bad at how slapped-together mine is when I see hers.)

Overall, 2016 wasn't super bad. A little sad and a little disappointing maybe, but not altogether bad.

Here's to 2017, and may it be as good (or, God willing) better than 2016. Happy New Years!