So you think this year is going to end...

(Written before the end of 2010)

I've been wondering about this end of the year thing. It's a bit like the date line. It had to go somewhere. People have various new year celebrations. This one, with its number system, is quite convenient I suppose. Number two thousand no hundred and ten is about to be finished. Roll along two thousand no hundred and eleven.

Fifty times I have been through this ritual - initially with parents but more recently as a parent of older children. The idea is that you leave the stuff behind in this year and start again with the new one - a new blank page, a new diary for traditionalists, and a new beginning. New hopes and dreams. Sometimes new homes and jobs. New intentions to be better at some things, and to lose the things that weigh us down, both physically and metaphorically.

The truth is the year won't end. We can't leave behind the things that have happened - even though we may hope that the next year will be much much better. We take with us the memories of lovely people who have died. We carry with us the memories of people who have challenged and exhausted us - of colleagues and friends who have journeyed with us and supported us - and of the tragedies and disasters that have forever shattered families and communities.

I've been to church a few times recently - lots of Christmas services. Twice I've picked up on a prayer used in which the Priest prayed, I think, about being inside or outside of time. I'm sure that's what I heard - twice. I could be forgiven for making it up once. The Christian faith is about eternal life - a life that begins now in relationship with God through Christ, a life in love, and a promise that not even death can separate us from this love of God.

My belief about death is uncomplicated. We move outside of time. The numbering of the years does not matter then. We dwell with an eternal God who I suspect, not being bound by time, sees it all at once. Not surprisingly, we are not to consult fortune tellers and astrology is not required - forget the stars. A simple faith in God who is above all means that we are to trust him fully for the bit of time we have labelled 2011.

May your next bit of time on earth, conveniently divided into days and months, be filled with this love that Jesus showed forth in his life, death and resurrection. Read the resurrection accounts in the New Testament. It's quite lovely how Jesus showed up when the doors were locked. Not a ghost, he confounded them with a rather nice barbecue on a beach. And of course it wasn't easy to describe how he left them at the end. Hidden by a cloud perhaps? He has not hidden his truth from us.

Following him in this bit of life labelled 2011 will make for a better journey. Thankfully we take with us the courage and faith that kept us moving steadfastly forward through this year, and the best promise of all - that He will never leave us or forsake us - that He is with us always!