Well, 2019 was, as all years are, a mix of good and bad, joy and sorrow, grief and love. Over the past year, a lot of really good stuff has happened. My medication change bore fruit and for the first time in years I feel rested after 6-8 hours of sleep, and I’m getting up reliably between 9 and 11 AM, and sometimes earlier. My exercise regime has continued and I feel more at home and comfortable in my body than ever before. I decided to get baptised and confirmed in the United Church of Canada in June to make my membership official. I became a regular attendee at the ADHD and Asperger’s/ASD Centre in Guelph, and officially launched my Hogg Administrative Solutions Business. I also grew into my role at Loyobo FIT, even securing regular paid work through my role there. And, of course, I finally got to see the Rise of Skywalker, the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga.
Of course, there was also a lot of tragedies. My uncle passed away after fighting far longer than we thought possible; my cousin passed quickly after a finding of cancer, and an old friend passed away, murdered in a senseless way. The world continued to wrestle with a number of issues, with no real progress being evident towards adverting several possible sources of mass extinction and death.
Most of all, yet another year has gone by with no progress in my romantic life–indeed, last year at this time I thought there was considerable hope on that front—this year, nothing seems evident as a source for hope, and a romantic relationship seems farther away than ever.
Yet if there’s one thing that’s been brought home this past year is a reminder of how good and bad intertwine, how joy and sorrow can be present at the same moment, and how life and death balance each other out. I know full well that God is love and is God to the living. I know how love, hope, and faith, provide resilience and through an almost alchemical process give me the strength to go on. I continue to lean into the darkness and the pain, focus on taking the next right step, and trust the Holy Spirit to guide me true.
So as I look forward to 2020, I ask for strength and guidance to get through and healing for the world’s brokenness. I hope to finally have romantic love come into my life, and I challenge you all to choose hope, choose life, and bring a little bit more love into the world.
Amen and Godspeed.