It’s the end of 2018 (or what’s a better title for this post?)

One of these days, I’m going to write a post on how to Joomla for wordpress.com users. Seriously. Building websites is not a walk in the park, the way I thought. That being said, I guess there’s a website out there I’ve not shared with the readers of this blog.

It has been a long year. Like this Kudu, walking out in the sun-scorched field, searching for some water, some days I… Unlike this Kudu, I have a sun allergy.

Martha (from the bible) took on way too much.  That is how my year has been. If you are not familiar with Martha, here’s a song about her and her sister Mary. In the story, Jesus visits Martha and Mary. Martha busy’s herself by getting everything ready to serve Jesus and his disciples, while Mary her sister just sits at his feet.

The below post is one I intended on putting on my website. But in the true reflection of me, the website is not perfect yet, and I just need to get a hang of it, again.

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Reflection. The year has passed. Good and bad stick out in one’s mind, or is it rather the bad things we tend to think about? How many times have I heard someone declaring that they do not want another repeat of the year past?

This year has really brought with it sorrows. The personal loss, the monetary and fiscal loss has been immense. Life lost. It has been a year of grief.

However, it has also been a year to start re-building. We managed to convert the outside storerooms, which did not burn down in the fire, into a flat. While by some this would be seen as barely livable, to me it is cozy, perhaps humble but comfy. It is from within these walls I am now typing this post. Looking upon the rubble, a stark reminder of the ones who have left us, my son’s joyful play a stark reminder of the ones still with us. It could have been so much worse.

Yes, our beloved parents did die. Yes, their murders burnt down the house, the household possessions, our possessions with them. Yes, we experienced more thievery, and deceit. But the dry land, upon which the livestock was starting to collapse, is now being quenched in the most welcoming rain. And the cows, are reproducing, showing that even in these times there is growth.

Things are never as easy as it seems, but this does not make them less worthwhile.

It was a lesson, which seemed to play out repeatedly this year. Like this website. I was at a point of wanting to hang in the towel. Seriously, what can be so hard about setting up a website right? Or we will just, quickly break in two windows into that solid wall. Nothing hard about that!

The key is, to just never give up. Keep going. Keep trying. Nothing hard about that.

The moments of joy, the growth through trying times, the things we learned will forever reflect inside my mind as the year that was 2018. Yes, it will also forever be the year everything changed, the loss something we will forever carry with us. And although I would much prefer 2019 characterized by plenty of sunshine, plenty of rainfall, prosperity, health, contentment, and comfort, with each new year, new challenges await. And the things we had to face in 2018 will make us all the stronger for the new hills we may have to climb ahead.

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I still don’t really have a tile for the post. And like most of my posts, it seems not completely done yet. But, perhaps like a preacher would end a sermon I just need to say, Amen.