Looking Back, Looking Ahead...

The year 2006 will soon be all but a memory. What kind of a year has this been? What will 2007 bring? A lot of that depends on me and you, yet it extends beyond each one of us to the Holy One.

Here are a few of my hopes and dreams for our world for this coming year:

-an end to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan
-withdrawal or at least a significant scaleback in American forces in Iraq
-More Christians, Muslims and Jews, Atheists and Agnostics talking to one another in peaceful, mutually respectful dialogue
-better healthcare for America's most needy children
-a lasting moratorium on the death penalty
-better end-of-life comfort care for the dying and their families
-real reform in Washington that helps the people not just corporate interests and lobbyists
- a real acknowledgement from President Bush that a) we are not winning the war and b) we need to get those Iraqis trained up and get our brave service people out of harm's way ASAP.
-a significant turnaround in caring for the environment to help stem the global warming crisis

This is a tall, ambitious list, I know, but true peace is a real and lasting hope that we can all contribute toward and work toward together.

I have never been one to make a lot of New Year's "resolutions" but I have also have some hopes and aspirations for myself for this coming year:

-to spend more quality time with my daughter and wife every day.
-to "go the extra mile" more often in my work in helping others.
-to take better care of the environment- use less, recycle more, and make choices that are better for the environment
-become more involved in volunteer service in my community
-actually get to know more of my neighbors
-take better care of my body as far as dietary choices, exercise, and sleep habits
-be more proactive in "putting first things first" in managing my time and energy
-deepen my spiritual journey through meditation, study, worship and small group participation
-read more books
-improve my musical skills (I have been playing and studying jazz guitar for several years now)

I lift these hopes and dreams up as an offering to God, and as hopes for the present and future.

Remembering the story of the birth of Jesus in that humble manger, we look ahead to the journey to the cross, and beyond to the promise of the Kingdom of God. But, as Jesus reminds us, the kingdom of God is within us and all around us. Will we recognize the Christ in our midst? In the eyes of the hungry and discouraged? In the longing of the weary and over-burdened? If we truly seek, we will find; if we truly knock, the door will be opened.

Jesus says "behold I stand at the door and knock."

Will we welcome him into our midst? The choice is ours- each one in our own time...

God's perfect Peace be with you now and in the new year,

John