For my family, 2006 has been a tremendous learning time. It has been challenging, exhausting, encouraging, and “hair pulling” all at the same time. (I am talking about pulling my own hair, not someone else’s) We are grateful to see the calendar change because of the new opportunities of discovery that await us on the horizon. But as we look back on 2006, one thing is certain – it has been a faith-building year. We have learned to trust God at a deeper and more significant level.

The following analogy from Eugene Peterson (The Unnecessary Pastor) is something that helps me understand the “hair pulling” seasons in life.
My two sons are both rock climbers, and I have listened to them plan their ascents. They spend as much or more time planning their climbs as in the actual climbing. They meticulously plot their route and then, as they climb, put in what they call "protection"—pitons hammered into small crevices in the rock face, with attached ropes that will arrest a quick descent to death. Rock climbers who fail to put in protection have short climbing careers.
Our pitons or "protection" come as we remember and hold on to those times when we have experienced God's faithfulness in our lives. Every answered prayer, every victory, every storm that has been calmed by his presence is a piton which keeps us from falling, losing hope, or worse yet, losing our faith. Every piton in our life is an example of God's faithfulness to us…. As we ascend in the kingdom of God, we also realize that each experience, each victory is only a piton—a stepping stone toward our ultimate goal of finishing the race and receiving the crown of glory.

2006 seems to have been filled with pitons. The past five years seem to contain a lifetime of them. Each piton is an experience where God prepares us for a deeper & more significant life than the life we had before the faith shaking moment. So we feel prepared, at least for this moment.

I add that last phrase, “at least for this moment” because so much more lies ahead of us. This life of faith is a journey down a road that has dangerous curves, long hills, and monotonous straight ways. While it leaves you breathless because of the dangers it includes, it also leaves you speechless because of the beautiful sights it reveals. My prayer for 2007? “Yes Lord, we are hanging on.”