2012 just looks good, doesn’t it? Printed on a calendar, splashed across an add, scribbled on a yellow legal pad. The numerals themselves just seem strong to me. I’ve always been partial to even numbers, of course. I didn’t mind turning forty because thirty-nine just felt so odd. (I’m not telling you how long ago that happened.)

But, I don’t think it is the evenly divisible 12 at the end of this Year of Our Lord. Something about this year feels so hopeful to me. I have no idea why. Certainly the state of the economy, the climate of politics, the turmoil in families, and the alarming number of registered Christians who aren’t so sure the Bible is true anymore gives me no reason to expect a happy outcome.

Yet, I do.

Maybe it is because, as my faithful husband always reminds me, we’ve read the end of The Book. Or maybe it is because our family isn’t starting the year in the chemo pod or the recovery center. Or, maybe it is simply because our Missouri winter hasn’t set in yet. To tell you the truth, I don’t really care what is responsible for this suscpicion of hope in my soul. I like it. And I plan to tend it, guard it, and help it grow.

Which brings me back to my original thought. 2012 just looks good, doesn’t it?