I'm old enough to have had years of total awesomeness and total crap.
01-04 were fantastic.
05+07 were great years.
06 was pretty bad.
09-11 sucked hardcore.
2012 had it's moments of incredible happiness and pain.
If I looked over my three decades I think I would find myself in the positive as far as good vs. bad years. God is faithful even when the locust are hungry. I have a great wife, great kids, a good job, and some sweet tattoos.
I think we love New Years Day because we like artificially mandated times to start over. We really feel that if we try super-de-duper hard this year all of our dreams will come true. This will be my year. This will be the year I run that 5k. I will quit smoking. This will be the year I have sex three times a week, every week. This will be the year my boss finally notices all the hard work I put in. This will be the year I save money for retirement. We need that day. We need January 1st of whatever year to give us a point of reference.
The February 1st rolls around and we wake up, drink a nice tall glass of EFFIT, and lay back down. The gym can wait. Cigarettes are on sale this week. You've got a headache. Your boss is a prick anyway. The furnace blew up. How many days until January 1st? Then man, this year is totally shot, so I will start next year on the up and up and THAT will be my year.
January 1st is a day off for me. It's a day off where I sit at the computer and let the kids run wild because my age is catching up to me. Who the hell needs to see midnight anyway? That is such a stupid time of day to be awake. Am I saddened by this? Am I as hopeless and crotchety as I sound? No. I refuse to bitch and complain without having the answer.
Everyday is new for me. Does that sound as cheesy as it feels to write? It's true. I have been blessed with shorter spurts. Everyday, week, month, minute, hour, what have you, it's all new. I know that the second after I screw up I can start over. I know that the second I spill the milk I can clean it up. I know that the Monday I skip the gym there's a Tuesday with my gym bag already packed. I know that just because the kid was up all last night puking and my wife doesn't want to see me doing anything but schlep a mop and pail that there is another night on it's way.
What's my secret? How do I have this mindset? Well for four easy payments of $29.95 I'll tell you....okay, I'll tell you anyway:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
Does this mean I have it all figured out and I have no issues? Yah, no. If you even think I feel that way read the rest of the posts here or follow us on Twitter and you will see why I am under no preconceived notions that I am anything more than another beggar who knows where to find bread. What God has done and is doing in me is too amazing for me to take any credit for. Everyday I feel the fight between my flesh and His Spirit in me.
Everyday is new because He makes it that way. I have received so much Mercy that I know that every minute offers a new shot, a new chance, a new lease. I don't need an arbitrary day because I know what happens when I hit my knees and pray.
So yah, Happy New Years Day, friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment