Happy New Year !

“Greet one another with a holy kiss” - 2 Corinthians 13:12

It’s a few hours before midnight rings in the new year 2009. Johnny has been sleeping on and off all day on the couch and finally woke and went to bed upstairs. The firecrackers are popping all around us. The moon is uniquely beautiful tonight framed in a hazy mist with just a sliver of a crescent shining against a dark circle next to a single shining star.

It is a haunting sight between the shadows of the live oak trees that are silhouettes lighted by the moon. It is a unique masterpiece painted in brilliant strokes of amazing grace by HIS mighty hand. To me it is a message of beautiful brightness in the darkness. It is a beacon of hope that 2009 will be a year of many blessings.

I say that having absolutely no idea what the future holds for us. This is the first New Year’s Eve where I look forward in blind trust in the Lord because I know that there are storms ahead on the way to rainbows. There are going to be “walking on water moments” where I know I will be reaching out to grab God’s hand and not looking down. But I am able to keep hope alive because I know that all problems are blessings in disguise. God is always teaching us more about HIM through trials.

That’s why this midnight I will be up to greet the new year and sing God’s praises despite the circumstances and toast the coming year ahead with a shout. This year however, I will be toasting alone. Johnny is too weak to stay up. He simply is not eating much. The nausea continues to plague him. Yesterday when we went to Mayo for an appointment I had to push him in a wheelchair.

He barely made it up the stairs tonight. I may have to make him a permanent bed downstairs soon. I’m not sure he’ll be ready to do chemo again on Monday if things continue this way. I simply pray that God will direct us according to HIS will for the situation. It is hard to watch Johnny suffer. Get to work angels and keep that tight hedge around my baby! HE has given you charge over my sweetheart!

New Year’s Day, I am making the traditional pot of greens for prosperity and black eyed peas for good luck with some Hoover’s cornbread fried in a skillet. My precious friend Debi and hubby Mark are bringing a wonderful surprise gift – a pick up truck full of chopped wood! Yay! Someone to share the meal with! And receiving the abundance of a friend’s kindness on the first day of the year. That’s my idea of a good start!

Johnny loves a good fire too, so the wood is a perfect gift. I made him one last night even though it wasn’t cold. I believe there is healing power watching the flames. He graciously shared his “secrets of the master” and taught me the art of building and stoking a fire all night long over the past few months, so I am quite the expert now. I also am learning to conquer the BBQ grill thanks to those nifty little individual charcoal bags you simply toss underneath the rack and lite.

Tonight at midnight I will be standing outside on my veranda lifting my glass of French champagne to the sky, flanked by my faithful canine companions Lucky and grand-pup Rhett under sparkling white Christmas lights. I will be toasting our awesome God in thanks for another year. I will be toasting everyone I love. I will be toasting old friends and new friends. I will be toasting all of you in thanks for your loving support of our family through this current crisis. I will also be asking God’s blessing on each of you and your own circumstances.

But most importantly – a special thanks to you all for showing such love to my husband. He is absolutely overwhelmed by your attention and demonstration of the Christian spirit. It has brought him and all of us to new levels in our faith. It is so comforting to know we do not make this journey alone. We not only see God’s footprints when we look down – we see all of your footprints that are indelibly etched in our hearts forever. God bless each and every one of you.

Happy New Year from the Williams Family!