2016 Was A Great Year!

I am seeing a lot of sentiment on my Facebook page about what a lousy, rotten year 2016 turned out to be.  Do not let yourself believe this!  There are plenty of reasons why 2016 was a terrible year: many celebrities who touched our hearts passed away, we elected a rotten person to the Presidency (don’t kid yourself, we were going to elect a rotten person either way), and the Royals failed to repeat as World Series champions. But, this was someone else’s narrative.  Do not let someone else dictate to you whether or not you should feel happy or sad.

Two thousand sixteen was a great year in so many ways.  Many of us experienced extraordinary personal growth, whether it was in our jobs, in our faith, or through the achievement of a lofty personal goal.  There were babies born, graduations, weddings and memorable trips.  We laughed, we danced, we kissed and we loved.  We hugged our loved ones and held on tight.  We rekindled dormant friendships and acquaintances, and we reaffirmed long-time friendships. These are all great and wonderful things!  Personally, I got to experience many of these things and it helped make this a great year.  And I am going to let someone else dictate to me that I should look back at 2016 as a lousy, rotten year? 

I do realize that some of you experienced tremendous sadness or loss.  Some of us lost close friends, or perhaps even a parent or a spouse.  Or God forbid, a child.  My heart goes out to you, and I understand if you think that 2016 was a truly horrific year.  I have been there.  Mourn your loss.  And understand that good times and great moments will return.

Treasure those great times and moments.  They do not come around every day.  As I look back on 2016, the good outweighed the bad.  God richly blessed me.  I look ahead to 2017 with optimism and hope.  My life is not perfect, nor will 2017 be perfect.  There will be times of sadness, and maybe great loss, although I certainly hope not.  Things will not always go as I hope they will.  I still have unfinished business to finish.  But in the end, I know that there will many good times and great moments ahead and that the good will outweigh the bad.