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istorically the most depressing day of the year is the night before the kids return to school, after the New Year holiday. That statement has been true for me as a child as well as an adult. Frequently, I spend those Sundays putting away Christmas, taking down lights, and getting kids to bed early. I would be sad and perhaps suffer a light depression, as I return to my first full work week.  This year, however, I feel different.

2010 will go down in my personal history book, as the hardest and most financially challenging year yet. For those of you who know me, you understand that I have enjoyed many, many years of prosperity and financial blessings. Starting a new business in 2010 (FunCitySocialMedia), was and is, extremely difficult and challenging.

As tough as any hardship might be, I am still thankful for the struggle. I know that sounds crazy, but let me explain a few points I am learning.

1. Hardships make you appreciate the good times and add balance to the seasons of life. Solomon, perhaps the wealthiest guy who ever lived, penned in Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

2. Tough times show you who your friends are. I’d like to believe that I have lived most my life helping those around me. This last year, my friends stepped up and helped my family in ways I cannot even begin to enumerate. God has really blessed us through the friends in our lives. I don’t know how we would have made it through 2010 without their help.

3. Financial difficulty allows for simplification. Wealth has a way of filling your life with stuff. Do I really need to eat out 10 times a week? Do we really need to continue to pay a lawn services? Are all our magazines and newspapers really necessary? These questions surfaced during these trying times and the answer to most was, “no”.

4. Count your blessings, it’s not all bad. When lean times come, we tend to focus only on the struggle and forget the blessings in disguise. We experienced great joy in the healthy birth of our last son, Daniel, in February and our middle son, Zachary, accepted Christ on his seventh birthday this December. These and many more blessings happen even in the worst of times.

As I return to my newly created business, I am so glad to be rid of 2010. I am extremely hopeful and not depressed as I ponder and prepare for what lies ahead.  As Frost would say, “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

What is your outlook for 2011? Are better times ahead for you?

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