A BLESSED NEW YEAR TO YOU

I look back on last year with overwhelming thankfulness for God’s great faithfulness and goodness to us.

The greatest blessings, of course, are the joys of family life. I remember my children asking me when they were younger, “What was your favorite time of motherhood?” I answered that I loved it when they were little babies. How I loved those precious times and they passed far too quickly.

But I have enjoyed every season of motherhood. My husband and I are now in a season of reaping the blessings of our years together (our 54th wedding anniversary coming in March). This year we enjoyed three family weddings (Arden and Esther, Meadow and Kendall, and Josiah and Shelby) and one engagement (Bowen and Kahoru) who will be married in May. That’s another wedding already planned for this coming year and we secretly hope there will be more. I love weddings!

And from weddings come babies. We were blessed with a new grandson this year (Canaan) and three great-grandbabies (Ezzie, Kyrah, and Lilliana). And we pray that God will pour out His blessings upon us and bless us with more great-grandbabies this year! Every child, grandchild, and great-grandchild is another opportunity for God to reveal His image in the world; to proclaim His love and salvation to a hurting world; and to reveal His truth to a deceived world. There’s no more powerful thing that we can do than bring life into the world, for each new life is not only for this world, but for the eternal world!

I love the words in John 1:9 where it tells us that “Jesus was the true Light, which lighteth every man than cometh into the world.” I believe that every new baby is born with a God consciousness, the light of God in their spirit. What a privilege to be born into a godly home where that light can be fueled to a great flame for the glory of God. Conversely, children born into unbelieving homes can have this light squashed and dampened. But it is always there and the Holy Spirit’s power can ignite that light again by His moving in the heart.

We also faced great challenges this past year, but they were times of drawing closer to the presence of God. Arden (Serene’s son) was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma shortly after his wedding in February. The whole family joined him in the fight of faith as we faced this battle. In his most crucial and desperate times we met every consecutive night for 13 weeks to pray for him—often over 30 of the family members praying around him each night. God is so good and has brought him from the depths (where we did not look at what we could see by the natural eye but hung on to the promises of God by faith) to great health. We still wait for the final test, but rejoice in seeing him look so well and healthy.

During this battle, Serene’s 20-year-old son, Isaiah had a traumatic accident with brain trauma. It took two hours to extract him from the car and his ear was also severed off. They neurosurgeon said he would never come out of a nursing home, but as we prayed and sought God we saw another deliverance. Isaiah is a walking miracle and a joy to us all. He has come into a greater place in God and the joy of life. He laughs all the time. He is such a tonic to have in the family. In fact, about three weeks ago, Isaiah, Colin, and I all got the ‘flu. Isaiah was over his in two days. Colin and I are still struggling! I think it is because he laughs so much!

Now we begin a New Year. I pray God’s blessings upon you and your family. May we all come increasingly into the light of God. May we all come increasingly out of the shadows into His glorious light. And may we also come out of shallowness into the depths of God’s love and truth. I hate the shallow places, don’t you? I long for the depths. I long to know God more. I long for more and more revelation of His truth and understanding of His plan for us. I long to be like the children of Issachar who Had “understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32). How we need true discernment in this hour of deception. This is my personal prayer and my prayer for you too.

“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth MORE AND MORE unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).

A blessed New Year to you.

Nancy Campbell