Well, another year is coming to an end. As I reminisce over the past 12 months, I think about the ways in which my word for 2017 (PURPOSE) has helped me look at my life from a new perspective. So much of my circumstances have been beyond my control, yet I found myself being emotionally controlled by them.  I have learned a lot about other people and have tried to understand why they may do what they do or say what they say. I have learned to stand strong when I have had to make an extremely difficult decision, not being influenced by unwarranted guilt,  sympathy, or a desire for a closer relationship, but to do what is best for me. I have learned that, as I look into the past and the future, both have a purpose and hopefully each continues to shape and grow me in a more positive way. Life definitely isn't all peaches and cream. Much of the time, I don't even understand why things happen the way they do. But, because God is in control, I must just do the best I can an