Dryden Update: Year’s End

Time.

Days, hours, minutes and seconds. Flowing relentlessly whether we like it or not. Sometimes we like it, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes I like it. Sometimes I don’t. I acknowledge that this is the reality of my experience of life. The constant is that time passes. I make the most of it when I treat it like the present it is.

Appreciation also involves reflecting on time past and seeing what has happened to learn from and treasure to inform the application of present actions, sentiments, words and thoughts. This is an apt time to reflect on the year as it comes to its conclusion and I have not updated this blog on life developments for a while. There have been a lot of developments this year, personally, including a significant change that has been over a year in the making. I hope to share that development soon.

Other than that, it’s been a decent year in the tutoring I do. It’s a privilege to engage with students at different levels in various subjects, shaping and gearing what I deliver to their needs, and seeing them succeed. It’s a delight to see the success not as a reflection on my competence but more as a reflection of the human capacity to tap into their ability and express it for the needed end. That’s a fulfilling experience that I hope to continue in the coming year.

It’s been a relatively productive year on this blog and on the Kingdom Position Ministries site. The bog is the outgrowth of the acknowledgement that I’m called to communicate. I have been given the love for words, and it’s a great outlet. So, being able to be a bit more intentional in that, especially over the summer and autumn of this year, has been particularly encouraging. I’m grateful for the platform to express myself and to collaborate with other saints who are gifted to deliver the truths of God in written form.

Although I was not as productive as I hoped to be with audio and video material, I was able to partake in Kingdom Conversations with saints online over the year. It proved to be a fascinating journey to see how saints interact, edify, and mull over how God’s mandate is delivered in the challenges of life. That experience reaffirms for me the importance of intentional gatherings of saints to edify each other, stir each other to good works, and challenge each other in holiness, mission, and purposeful living.

Family life has been richly rewarding and challenging. There have been experiences we’ve never had before as a family. It has deepened my appreciation for what makes a family and the responsibility of its constituent parts. The dynamics now are so different from how they were a decade ago and five years ago, and that’s been for our good. My love for my wife has never been stronger, and more importantly, my commitment to the marriage is far more significant than it has been. With the developments of the year, that has been crucial. It’s set to be even more crucial with what awaits us.

I appreciate God for the resources He’s provided to get key work done and function as He calls me to. I don’t take for granted the resources like the electricity and gas in the facility I operate in. Resources like the chair and desk that I work on. Resources like the laptop, tablet, microphone, and mobile device. Resources like Bible Gateway, Canva, Zoom, Chrome, Brave, E-Sword, YouTube, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Leonardo, Ideogram, Venice, Audacity, Gmail, Word and Excel.

I’m grateful to God for 2024. I don’t know if it’s the greatest year I’ve ever had in my life. Which probably means it’s not. That doesn’t detract from the fact that the year’s highlights have been thoroughly enjoyable.

I have much to thank God for the people I’ve interacted with and engaged in aspects of the gift of life. I am grateful to God for those relationships at various levels that inform how I operate and enrich my understanding of who God is, what life is and what is worth living for. I thank God for those conversations on WhatsApp and Telegram – that quantity of words, gifs, and links that have delivered thought-provoking insights and great laughs have helped me tremendously this year, whether in one-to-one interactions or group chats.

It’s helpful to me to reflect on whether the year had accomplishments and achievements or setbacks and sadnesses. It’s helpful to mark the time with those and detect what those episodes tell me about God, people, and myself, just as it’s helpful from time to time to drop notes here proving updates.

The end is a time to look back on what was, knowing the next step is about the new, and ponder the desired steps forward. I hope to share more on that, including an update on the significant development. This note is to say that I appreciate all that God has done for me in 2024. He is good and has done great things for me, and I’m glad about it.

For His Name’s Sake

C. L. J. Dryden

Shalom