Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a joyous celebration of Christmas. Mine was just as I said it would be in my last posting.
At our Community Living Center, where I live with about fifty other sisters, we had an evening prayer service for New Years’ Eve. During this prayer we were asked to pray for the grace we need this year. I’m still trying to narrow it down as I think I need a lot of graces. Perhaps I will tell God what they are, and ask God to give me the one I need the most.
After the prayer service, we had a New Years’ Eve party with food and drinks, the annual Word Find (with a word missing), and we watched the movie, "Julie and Julia". At 11:00 I went back to our Gathering Space, and with six other sisters stayed up to watch the annual celebration in New York City when the ball goes down as the crowds and we count down the seconds until midnight.
In between the first party and the later party I had gone back to my room. One of my annual traditions is to sit and reflect on the past year. I made a list of the blessings I had received in 2009. Wow! After listing them, I thought how fortunate I am to be loved so much by God. I gave thanks and I felt at peace. I like this tradition. I am sure some of you do something similar to end one year and begin another.
It has been nice to be out of school for a couple of weeks. In three more days, life will go back to normal. I will go back to school, exercising at the cardiac center, and all the other routine activities that are part of my life.
The New Year is only beginning. There is still time to reflect on the blessings you have been given. May God bless all of you abundantly in 2010.