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New Year's arrival generally marks the end of the holiday season that began with Thanksgiving.

We begin the task of carefully wrapping treasured ornaments and family heirlooms in tissue paper, putting them away for another year.

We drag the dried-out Fraser fir to the side of the road for pick-up or pack up our artificial trees to be used next year. Wreaths are removed and garland is taken down.

We look over photographs taken of family and friends with a smile as we take pleasure in the moments that made this holiday season special. Christmas greetings sent to us by way of yearly family newsletters and cards are read and enjoyed one last time before being put away for awhile.

Saying goodbye to an old year as we say hello to the new, as we will tonight, is bittersweet to me. We come to the end of the Christmas holidays, the end of December and the end of 2008, all with the ticking of the second hand that sweeps away time one moment at a time.

The tick-tock of the clock reminds us of the past year as we reflect on things we have accomplished and look at the list of untouched projects and unrealized dreams. We can remember where we were a year ago and can see where we now stand. For some, contemplating the events of the past year are heartbreaking; for others, there is joy. For most, it is a mixture of both as we take a look around.

For my family and myself, New Year's Eve is a quiet event. At times in the past, we've gathered at church. Other times, we've gone out to dinner as a family or with other families. There have also been New Year's Eves spent with our extended families as we hold a belated Christmas gathering.

Most of all, I relish the quiet New Year Eve's at home, watching DVDs with the kids and making sure to switch over to a network station a few minutes before midnight to watch the ball drop in Times Square.

Usually we go to sleep shortly after we watch the excitement and celebration on TV screen, aware in our conscience that we have passed from December to January in a heartbeat of time.

And in that amount of time, we are given the hope of a new year as well as a blank slate of seconds, minutes, hours and days we'll experience in the upcoming year.

With a flip of a calendar page, we go from reflecting on what happened or didn't happen the year before to a fresh start. Our situation is still the same, but for some reason we are refreshed by the promise of another chance to do things right this year.

As I consider the new year, I hold to the promise given in Philippians 1:6: "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

As I look back through 2008, I can see the areas God carried me through. I see where trusting Him made the difference between a good choice and a bad one.

I recognize all the times He provided for my family again and again, in ways that oftentimes took me by surprise. I can face the new year knowing that God will do the same in 2009.

Linda Vestal is a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend living in Gibsonville. Contact her with comments or story ideas at lindavestal@triad.rr.com.