Year End thoughts

As the year approaches to a close, I look back and I find myself maturing emtionally and spiritually, ( maybe physically growing fat). I've been through a lot this year. The rough transition from army to civilian life. Once I was 24/7 away from home now I'm 24/7 at home. It's a tough adaptation for me. I even brought some of my occupational habits, eg: treating my family members like my men in the army. Give you instructions, you follow, if not you get it. Well, I'm trying to get these habits out of the system, having some improvements but still much to be done. I'd like to thank God for my parents who have been always so supportive and encoraging and always nearby. Without them, I guess I'd be a nobody now. Spiritual wise, I think I learnt many lessons from my daily walk with God. Though I don't usually do quiet time but my prayer life has been improving. I never felt God any closer than before. Prayer for me is a special time I spent with God, it's just like a intellectual conversation and somehow God replies to me through words in the Bible. I used to think prayer was a one way traffic, and God is like some genie in the lamp who shows you His presence by the things He does. But lately, it's a 2-way road. I find myself really conversing with God like He's just beside me and I never knew that I could cry while praying. Grown men don't cry but with such closeness, it's unavoidable. I really hope that my prayer life could be maintained and even be made better and closer with God.