GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME: The Very Best of 2014

One year is gone and another has begun.

Last night we ushered in 2015 with a few of our closest friends. Today, in the very beginning hours of a new year, our home is peacefully quiet. I find myself in reflection, looking back at where this year has taken us and wondering, for just a moment, where 2015 will lead. I don't linger long in the wondering for I know that it's futile. None of us has a crystal ball and I'm glad. I've learned over the years that life would look much too big if we could see into the future.

2014 was a quiet year, otherwise known as a year void of major crisis or monumental loss. For this I am thankful. Quiet is so very good. We had a lot of beautiful and some very exciting. We made new relationships and said goodbye to some. Relationships can be funny like that. People come into our lives and then go so quickly. Their here, a part of our lives, for such a very short time and we almost wonder "what was that all about?" Yet we know that they came for a reason. They were a part of our learning and growing and, no matter how quickly they came and went, they are a part of who we will be.

I spent this first morning of the year scrolling through files of photos that we've taken. I love photos. My camera and I make people crazy sometimes but I've never taken a picture that I've regretted. The photos speak. True illustrations of this particular chapter in our story. They tell of relaxation, peace and exciting milestones. They tell of growing up, maturing, aging. We use a different word for different parts of life but it all means the same, that time is marching on and we....all of us..... the very young and the very old and everyone in between..... are marching right along with it.

This year brought so much happiness. I know that there were also some hard days, some tear filled days (I may have even had one of those last week) but I can hardly remember them because, at least for now, the happy is so much bigger than the sad.

Here's a look at some of my very favorites of 2014