Now sing with hearts aglow

New year, new beginning, new possibilities. It's no wonder that people forget we're still in Christmas once the new year begins.
So many things I've read today are about forgetting the past- sweeping it under the carpet and starting anew. But if we forget the past we forget what has made us who we are. One thing I learnt during the discernment process I went through before being accepted for ordination training is that the more difficult things we encounter, and how we deal with them, have far more influence on us. They mould and shape us far more than the lovely and fluffy things.
So I celebrate the difficult things from the last twelve months, because in some way they've maybe helped me more than the good things I've encountered.