{"id":361,"date":"2013-01-03T19:02:58","date_gmt":"2013-01-03T19:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=361"},"modified":"2013-01-03T18:19:30","modified_gmt":"2013-01-03T18:19:30","slug":"a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html","title":{"rendered":"A Bumpy Start Doesn’t Have to Mean a Bad New Year Is Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This new year, like many before, stretches ahead with promise and, I’m sure, lots of good days ahead. But it has begun a bit on the bumpy side. Holiday travel stirred up more than the usual aches and pains, some other lingering health problems are still, well, problems, and news about a a friend’s death and another’s stroke have already brought more than a little reality back to the holiday season’s rosier glow.<\/p>\n

This week, besides starting on new writing projects and getting back to routine exercise and rest, I’ll be prepping for doctor visits, praying mightily for my stroke-besieged friend, \u00a0and attending a funeral.<\/p>\n

At first, it might seem as if 2013 is starting off horribly. Or, at least, not in the way you would expect a brand new, tarnish-free year to begin. But I’ve lived with the ups and downs of chronic illness and pain for awhile and recognize the ebbs and flows. Just because the new year is beginning with a few bumps doesn’t mean that I have to resign myself to a terrible 12 months. Life is, pardon the cliche, life – and with faith, there is the understanding that no matter what it brings, God will comfort, hold, and inspire.<\/p>\n

If your 2013 begins in a less-than-uplifting way, you’re not alone. Moreover, you’re in good company with many for whom illness, pain, loss, and trouble are mixed in with other, more cheerful blessings.\u00a0 The tenor of the months ahead will be determined not so much on whether we have bad days at the start, but rather how we react to\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

A bumpy start doesn’t have to mean a bad new year is ahead. It just means that, like last year and the years before them,\u00a0difficulties and sorrows happen – but so too do many good things.<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This new year, like many before, stretches ahead with promise and, I’m sure, lots of good days ahead. But it has begun a bit on the bumpy side. Holiday travel stirred up more than the usual aches and pains, some other lingering health problems are still, well, problems, and news about a a friend’s death…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,43],"tags":[151,29,44,322,45,323,46,30,96,62],"class_list":["post-361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","tag-bad-days","tag-chronic-illness","tag-chronic-pain","tag-difficulties","tag-faith","tag-good-days","tag-hope","tag-pain","tag-prayer","tag-sorrow"],"yoast_head":"\nA Bumpy Start Doesn't Have to Mean a Bad New Year Is Ahead - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Bumpy Start Doesn't Have to Mean a Bad New Year Is Ahead - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This new year, like many before, stretches ahead with promise and, I’m sure, lots of good days ahead. But it has begun a bit on the bumpy side. Holiday travel stirred up more than the usual aches and pains, some other lingering health problems are still, well, problems, and news about a a friend’s death…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-03T19:02:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-01-03T18:19:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2013\/01\/Maureen-Pratt-Author-Pic-246x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mpratt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Bumpy Start Doesn't Have to Mean a Bad New Year Is Ahead - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Bumpy Start Doesn't Have to Mean a Bad New Year Is Ahead - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","og_description":"This new year, like many before, stretches ahead with promise and, I’m sure, lots of good days ahead. But it has begun a bit on the bumpy side. Holiday travel stirred up more than the usual aches and pains, some other lingering health problems are still, well, problems, and news about a a friend’s death…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html","og_site_name":"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","article_published_time":"2013-01-03T19:02:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-01-03T18:19:30+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2013\/01\/Maureen-Pratt-Author-Pic-246x300.jpg"}],"author":"mpratt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html","name":"A Bumpy Start Doesn't Have to Mean a Bad New Year Is Ahead - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2013\/01\/Maureen-Pratt-Author-Pic-246x300.jpg","datePublished":"2013-01-03T19:02:58+00:00","dateModified":"2013-01-03T18:19:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#\/schema\/person\/b47fd8e9d9cc9750d5779f75b8669a32"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2013\/01\/Maureen-Pratt-Author-Pic-246x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2013\/01\/Maureen-Pratt-Author-Pic-246x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/a-bumpy-start-doesnt-have-to-mean-a-bad-new-year-is-ahead.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Bumpy Start Doesn’t Have to Mean a Bad New Year Is Ahead"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/","name":"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","description":"Beliefnet Voices","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#\/schema\/person\/b47fd8e9d9cc9750d5779f75b8669a32","name":"mpratt","description":"Several years ago, Maureen Pratt earned her Master of Fine Arts in Theater Arts\/Playwriting from UCLA's School of Theater, FIlm and Television. She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":364,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions\/364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}