Humans have been making choices and living with the consequences of them since the Garden of Eden. The year which is about to conclude was no different. 2024 was a year of personal, familial, national (political and social), technological, spiritual, and economic choices which will significantly change the dynamics in all of those areas in 2025 and the years that will follow it. Indeed, sometimes our choices profoundly change/alter our very nature, and I believe that 2024 will go down in history as one of those years for me and a lot of other folks around the world.
In 2024, I let go of a great deal of my former self. I let go of the civic religion which I had participated in for all of my life. I finally and fully removed the rose-colored glasses which I had been wearing when examining the history, political institutions, and people of the world around me. For me, 2024 offered a moment of clarity and an opportunity for growth, repentance, and change. I realized that the United States had been for me an object of idolatry for most of my life, instead of the very human and flawed nation that it had always been. In other words, it finally dawned on me that I was an alien and a stranger on the earth - one of those who are seeking the Kingdom of God. At long last, I let go of my overweening pride in my own patriotism toward, and service to, the land of my nativity. Going forward, there would be no more time wasted in meaningless and unproductive rituals which diverted my attention from my primary responsibilities in this life: God, family, community, and myself.
In 2024, I also came to terms with my own limitations - with the aging and deterioration of my physical body - with the fact that I am simply no longer able to do certain things which I had previously taken for granted. Looking back, I cannot say that this has been a pleasant experience. Indeed, it has been a process marked by anxiety, depression, and both physical and emotional pain. Moreover, in hindsight, I can now see that it is a phenomenon which has been ongoing for several years now - at first slow and almost indiscernible, and then like suddenly hitting a brick wall. I had always relied on contact with the natural world to both ground me and provide relief for the stresses of my everyday life. In 2024, however, the reality that my asthma and arthritis have precluded my beloved hiking through the rocks, fields, and woods of the surrounding countryside has hit home in a big way. It has been replaced by professional counseling and enjoying time watching television with my grandchildren. I have also learned to enjoy the simple pleasure of allowing the wind to sweep some of the cobwebs away while I take a brief stroll around my own backyard.
My physical limitations have also forced me to quit working, apply for my Social Security Disability, and struggle to live without a regular income. It has also compelled me to make some painful choices about letting go of past dreams and ambitions. My financial situation has forced me to sell my beloved Blackberry Knoll in Alabama. I can no longer afford the luxury of a monthly mortgage payment, and the sale of that little paradise will satisfy what I still owe on my dwelling (and also make a few necessary repairs). There also won't be any little dream cabin for Darlene and me to escape to someday. Instead, we will focus on the reality of our circumstances. The need for new transportation - a walk-in shower and making our home more comfortable for us in the present. Difficult choices that will, nevertheless, improve our lives and better provide for our current needs.
In surveying these philosophical, spiritual, and physical changes of the last year, I am reminded of something that the Apostle Paul wrote many years ago to the saints at Philippi: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty." (Philippians 4:8-14, NLT)
May the year ahead be a blessing to us all!
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