does anyone here speak manish?

It's no secret that I have very little dating experience. We're talking serious man-drought. 10 years of it. That's one fourth of the time the Israelites wandered the desert. It's the age of my students. It's an entire decade, people.

Well, this lack of experience has been both good and challenging as I've navigated my relationship now. Perhaps the most difficult hurdle to overcome has been understanding how we are different as men and women and trying to communicate. If you want to know what it's like, just try watching the Spanish channel with your hands over your ears and everybody speaking backwards. It's tough. It's frustrating. And neither side is right or wrong. He's logical. I'm emotional. He says exactly what he means no matter how blunt it may be. I sugar-coat and dance around the issue. He tunes out or makes jokes. I sigh and cry and roll my eyes.

These differences can cause stress and challenges in communicating. But they are the same differences that make us human and unique. God created each gender to have strengths that would complement the other. And when things are working together harmoniously, it's really rather beautiful. It may take a lot of work, some long nights, and occasionally an interpreter, but the reward is great. As I'm learning to understand his idiosyncrasies and he's gradually beginning to grasp my minor insanity, we are growing closer to one another and closer to the vision that God has for our relationship.

Fortunately in the meantime I am becoming quite proficient at man-speak. So in honor of all guys out there, let me just say, "Dude". And thanks for growing with us.

a very good year

Have you ever been to a fancy restaurant and ordered a bottle of wine? They bring it out to you, show you the bottle, pour a little, and wait while you sample it. Of course I know nothing about wine, other than the simple fact that I like it, so I usually just sip it and say something really profound like, "Mmmm tasty!" and wait for the snobbish waiter to go away and gossip about me in the kitchen. Well another thing that has always confused me about wine is the claim that the bottle is from a "very good year." I'm sure it has something to do with the quality of the grapes from that particular harvest. Maybe there was more rain or fewer pests. The vines bore fruit that was beautiful, delicious, and fragrant.

This has become my theme for the new year. Not just because it has to do with wine and I can use it as an excuse to drink more of it, but for the deeper implications as well. You see, the year 2010 was a year of trial and struggle. Yes, there was much good to be thankful for. I have a job I was made for. I have a comfortable house and two snuggly mutts. I have fallen in love. But God had a plan for me this past year that was not an easy one. It was worthwhile, important, life-changing, but not easy. Struggles hit like crashing waves on rocky shores, pounding down my selfishness, my pride, my need for control. It's been tough.

Now as I look forward to 2011 I don't want to forget the lessons learned in the previous year. I want to use that season to carry me into a new one. From a season of drought to a season of plenty. The true change, however, is not my circumstances, but my heart. I may be tempted to give credit to "more rain" (money, time, relationships) and "fewer pests" (challenges, difficulties, strain and struggle). But the true cause for a sweeter fruit this year will be my hope in the Lord. As I draw closer to him and learn to trust him in his faithfulness my heart will grow, and grow strong. My roots will be deep. I will reach for the sun. I will produce a sweet harvest of love, compassion, wisdom, and grace. And at the end of this year, when it's all bottled and put away, I'll be able to look back and say, yes it was a very good year.


Blessings to you as you begin a new year. May the peace and hope that can only be found in Jesus be more real to you than ever as we continue through the journey of life.

Emily