Psalm 23:6
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

2018 began with some trials;  I came down with a respiratory infection, was t-boned in a car accident, had the flu, discovered I have herniated discs in my neck from my car wreck, lost my voice to pharyngitis, came down with a bad stomach bug, work insecurity stress, and a possible biopsy on the horizon all before spring break. A friend made a joke that 2018 is not my year. At first I thought, well 2016 and 2017 weren’t my years either. But later I correctly thought, God carried me through those years and will carry me through this one too. My car wreck could have been worse; I could not be here writing this blog about it. I am because God is not finished with what He wants to accomplish through my time here on this earth. Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” God’s grace and mercies are new each day; each day He keeps working as I am a work in progress to be more like Jesus. Because He’s still working, I can be encouraged as I face each trial. Because He hasn’t left or forsaken me, I can follow after Him even when I can’t tell where I’m headed. In Exodus, the Israelites followed God by a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire at night in the wilderness. They struggled when they could only see their struggles and not the way God provided in those 40 years they felt lost. 2018 started with struggles, and could possibly have more along the way. Instead of focusing on the struggles, I’m going to focus on God’s goodness and mercy following me. I love the confidence of the psalmist to start the measure, “surely….” Yes, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. I picture God leading, me following Him and His goodness and mercy following me, hemming me in safely. Not just some days and on some good years, but all the days of my life.