Starting over, with hope

"Thank God, I got that over with."

That's sort of how I feel about 2008. Whew.

My daughters, Lindsay and Molly, tease me because I prefer even-numbered years. Generally speaking, I like even numbers better than odd. Don't know why, except I'm an obsessive-compulsive kind-of-a-guy, and even numbers are symmetrical.  I was born on an even-numbered day in an even-numbered year to an even number of parents. Each of my names is spelled with an even number of letters. Who knows? I like even numbers.

Rethinking favorite years

But 2008 has been enough to make me reconsider. For starters, I'm about ready to take a pass on years divisible by 4. Of course, the Summer Olympics always take place in years divisible by 4. But even that's not enough of a diversion to help us get past all the politics. Sure, we're blessed to live in a free democratic country and possess the right to vote. But sheesh. So much negativity and nastiness. 

And we had more than our share in ’08, didn't we? I blame the Internet. E-mailers and bloggers had a field day this year. Even if you expect criticism and mud-slinging at presidential candidates, it's hard to keep a good attitude amidst all the speculation and innuendo, not to mention the outright lies. Didn't you get to a point where you woke up and said to yourself: "I know how I'm going to vote. I just want to get this over with"?

We also continued to endure a war that never should have been. God bless our troops. They're paying the ultimate price with honor because of foolish decisions. We now count more than 4,000 U.S. military deaths and many more wounds. And multiply that figure many times over to estimate the number of Iraqi casualties, acknowledging God loves them just as much as God loves Americans.

Wait, it gets worse …

We can't forget genocide in Somalia; persecution of Christians in many lands, particularly southern Asia; persecution of people of all faiths in China; drug-trade violence, especially in northern Mexico; instability in the middle East; and the ghastly violence of the last week in Gaza.

Chances are, you knew someone who died too young, a marriage ripped by divorce, more than someone who lost a job, maybe someone who lost a home, others whose dreams went unfulfilled and other tales of personal lost. It all happened in 2008.

Oh, yeah, and don't leave out the financial crisis. Raise your hand if you're waaaay less ready to retire than you were a year ago.

Sorry for this sad litany. I'm not as morose as all this sounds. But you've got to admit, as years go, 2008 didn't win many gold stars.

A year of blessings, too

Still, 2008 was a wonderful year. You can think of many reasons. Here are some of mine:

•  Four couples in the young-adult class Joanna and I teach had babies. Thank God for Brooklyn, Lorelei, Matthew and Nathan.

•  It looks like two wonderful friends beat cancer. Every time I see David's shiny bald head and hear Cecil's lovely voice, I thank God for brilliant doctors and researchers.

•  After almost 30 years of marriage, my wife remains my best friend, soulmate and the love of my life. First thing every morning and the last thing at night, I thank God for blessing my life by entertwining it with Jo's.

• Jo's dad and my parents enjoyed good health and my 97-year-old grandmother remained as sharp as ever, although her body is tired.

 • God blessed the Baptist Standard with ministry and purpose, and God led us to new technology and fresh ideas that are turning bright lights on our future. And no matter how we deliver it, we've still got an amazing story to tell—about what God is doing around the world and particularly among Texas Baptists.

• Speaking of Texas Baptists, even though we've been going through a rough time and finances are tight, we support 27 wonderful institutions, we've got a focus on missions and ministry, we relate to many of the finest churches anywhere, and our focus on Texas Hope 2010 will lead us to share the gospel with everyone in the state and make sure no child within our borders goes hungry.

• The United States crossed a major milestone by electing the first African-American president.

• My lungs and legs held up, and many days—although not nearly enough—I reveled in the opportunity to go outside and run.

• Even in hard economic times, Tex-Mex remains affordable, and I live within close driving distance of the best chile rellenos (Matt's in Dallas), pollo ala Mexicana (Gloria's in Oak Cliff), beef enchilladas (El Rancho Grande in Fort Worth) and brisket tacos (Ole's in Coppell) on the planet.

• Jo and I stood on the beach in Florida and watched a gorgeous sunset. Five friends and I gaped at the Milky Way from Big Bend National Park. Many mornings on my way to work, I viewed sunrises too beautiful for words.

• Books and music. Every day, I read words that moved me and listened to tunes that thrilled me.

• Friends—for whom I'm grateful even though I don't deserve them—loved me and made me laugh.

Well now, I feel like the preacher who starts naming names of people who helped with the latest church project. He's sure to leave someone out. And I'm sure to miss a 2008 blessing.

But on the last day of the year, I feel so much better for counting some of mine. Late tonight, I'll end the year remembering many more.

Anticipation

So, I'll start the New Year with a heart filled with hope. God is good. And no matter what captures the headlines, 2009 will be a year filled with wonder and awe.