Last year was decidedly unpleasant in parts, certainly a bit of an annus horribilis. Not the whole year, of course, bur concentrated portions of awfulness emerged with frightening regularity, enough to earn the moniker. I got to know the insides of hospitals and detox centres quite well, also cemeteries.

This year has certainly been less fraught, with only a few incidents, some predictable, others not. There are still five weeks or so for 2025 to demand a further pound of flesh and I have learnt from experience that anything is possible, including very good things.

One thing that has grown through the sundry adversities is my faith. Even at my most crushed moment, when dark clouds loomed and a way forward seemed remote, God was at my side, a constant companion and a powerful source of peace. As a person who likes to try to have control of the immediate circumstances ( I like to hedge against future trouble) it has been difficult to give up that control. Surrendering life's troubles to God is a sure way to find greater peace and even a surprising joy. 

Happiness is sought through the circumstances of our lives (making it a shaky prospect at best) whilst joy is found in relationship. The latter is unshakeable. I understand that people who do not have faith will find this hard to believe, but too many Christians over the past two thousand years have found it just so for it to be a coincidence or self-deception.

I am not sure how I survived my forty years in the wilderness.