Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

My thanks to 2016's beacons of light

Dear 2017,

With a definitive snap, I close the book on 2016. What’s the saying, in like a lion and out like a lamb? Without question, your cousin 2016 tore through Head Acres, claws out, like a lion.

As I look back, I tiptoe through the pieces of 2016 that cluttered the journey. Loss. Illness. Responsibility. Rejection. Obligation. Change. At times, circumstances left me feeling lost, stumbling around as I tried to make my way.

During those moments, anxiety and fear can be overwhelming, almost paralyzing us. And then we’re stuck, when in reality, the best thing to do is move, take a step. Even the smallest of steps is a step forward.

Faith is easy when things are going well. It’s so much more difficult when we’re faced with uncertainty, when we’re neck deep in a crisis.

Upon reflection, I see (now) that during those times, the right person was placed in my path. Whether for a moment in passing, an email or a visit in my office, the right person was there. Maybe not with an answer, but with what was needed at that point in time: a flicker of hope — of faith — revealed itself. They became a light in the darkness.

Even though I don’t do resolutions, I do a good bit of self-reflection, to close out one year in order to embrace the new with a clean slate, a refreshed spirit.

During one such moment of contemplation, three geese flew over me, just above the tree tops. I heard their song before I saw them.

“You guys are lost; they went that-a-way,” I said.

Two things struck me almost simultaneously: I was talking to geese (and telling them where the rest of their group went); and, how nice it would be to have someone point the way for us.

Silence.

Realization.

Epiphany, table for one.

I have people who, whether they know it or not, are those beacons of light.

Some are obvious, like a particular dean who, when finding out I was recovering from surgery after graduation, made a beeline to my office with chocolate, fruit and tea.

Others are stealth beacons of light, who share joy without knowing they’re doing it. For instance:

• the residents of Head Acres who can’t wait to see me because they know I keep biscuits in my pockets;

• Wayne, who is a pun master extraordinaire;

• Members of the CRE group who send out bits of encouragement and laughter via email;

• The fellow who gave the Portales McDonald’s $100 for the people behind him, to make their day (best coffee I had all week).

The list goes on, much longer than the word count I’m allowed to have for each column ...

Patti Dobson writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact her at: [email protected]

 
 
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