Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008!!!

I want to start off by wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year. May 2008 lead you into new uncharted waters.

That's what 2007 did for me. It started off right with the Gators winning the National Championship in football, but it soon went downhill from there. As most know, I suffered several injuries in a car accident (the worst being a broken femur,) on Thursday, January 11th around 1:50. That day has, and will forever change my life. I went through some dark times, and some good times since then. I have fought hard to even keep my faith, groping around in the dark looking for a flicker of life in my soul. I have seen a dull glow, and I remain optimistic that it will one day grow into a full-fledged forest fire, burning away the old to make way for the new. And so that's why I am looking forward toward 2008. I can see all the bad the accident has brought upon me; it has wrecked my soul (or more like God has,) and left behind shattered glass and crunched metal, and the smell of deployed airbags. It looks bad, smells bad, feels bad, but in the end you get $70,000 and 9 months off work. But here's the thing, looking back, I had some dark, dark days that I would not wish on my worst enemies. I have fought demons, and felt them preying on my body and soul. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I have learned invaluable lessons from this past year, lessons I could not have learned any other way. So yes, I have hurt this year, and yes I have doubted this year, and yes, I gone to the brink of giving up and back again. But I have also been so blessed to see God still work in me and around me, even while I doubted and sat numb. And that strengthens you, and you can feel your soul grown to the point where it feels like it is going to push it's way out of your chest cavity. So I say that to say this, look forward to what the new year may bring you. It might not be what you expect, but it's what you need. And when it happens, or as it happens, just know that this year, 2008, has been planned out for longer than either you or me can imagine. And know that you have two ways to handle it: you can stay crippled, broke, and lost, or you can push on, wage that war, win some and lose some, but still be holding on to the flag at the end of the day. Or year.

May you all have a Happy New Year! Welcome 2008 with open arms, and all that it already has in store for you. God Bless!