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Goodbye, 2010; hello 2011!

I’m not sure about you, but I am ecstatic to see a brand new year.

From the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile to staggering unemployment rates to the Gulf oil spills, last year was rough, to say the least.

We’ve heard about everything from foreclosures to layoffs. Thankfully, I wasn’t personally affected by anything like that, but like you all, I had my own struggles in 2010.

While it’s easy to dwell on the things that went wrong, I am making the decision to focus on the lessons I learned and using those to have a better 2011.

I learned in 2010 that I didn’t properly grieve when we lost my young nephew in 2009, and it all came back with a vengeance last year.
It was certainly one of the darkest times in my life, but I learned that I am not Superwoman. It’s OK to slow down and feel things as they are happening. In fact, it’s imperative that I do so.

I was in a car accident last summer that left me with a terrible back injury to the point of being bedridden for a week.

While I was in a lot of pain it showed me that sometimes, we all need help. No one can get through this life completely alone.
I also learned that people are more than happy to return the kindness you’ve shown them, and for that I’m grateful.

It is my hope and prayer for us all that we use the new year as a chance to start fresh and new, that we can move on to our next best thing without looking back on the agony of 2010.

I’m making the choice to look at last year as a stepping stone and not the boulder on my back.

My uncle, Bishop Charles McDowell, preached a sermon a couple years back titled, “You have to go through to get to,” and it stuck with me. Uncle Charles said from the pulpit, “In order to get to the blessings in store for you, you have to go through the trials of life.”

I look at 2010 as my phase of “going through” and this new year is when I start to “get to” my blessings.
Will you join me?

Contact Tiffany S. Jones at 373- 7157 or tiffany.jones@news-record.com