The season of Advent is here! For everyone who doesn’t know, that means, at least in the Catholic Church, the start of a new liturgical year, a time to restart yourself as a Christian, and the preparation of the celebration of the birth of Jesus. It is a fantastic time, a wonderful time that is celebrated by many, but to me, this year, it has a little more meaning.

My family has had a rough 2016. From relationship problems, to illness in the family, to illness, and many other things, it is time to put this life spiral into neutral and start over again. There have been wins along the way, do not get me wrong. I am not trying to dwell on the every thing that has gone array, but this year has been hard. I am ready to start over, and I can only thank God that I get the chance to start over again.

What will come though? I am hoping that better things are coming. I hope that we have hit the pinnacle in our family, the summit of challenges for a while, if you will. But what if we have not? What if we have only made it to the top, just to start the journey back down, and that is just a steep cliff? I am not sure what will come in the new year. No one is ever really truly sure of what will come in the next day, next hour, much less the next year. With that, take this new portion of the year to get reacquainted with God.  Take advantage of Advent!