Another new year.
Each one brings with it opportunities and problems; hope and despair; future and past; experiences and memories. This seeming paradox about the onward marching of time while reminding of time past is part and parcel of living.
What’s the best way to manage this dichotomy?
Acceptance. Accept that change is inevitable. Accept that what we desire will not always happen. Accept that the unknown – the future – is at the same time frightening and exciting. Accept that we have something to do, something to achieve, something to work toward, something to finish.
Accept that we are not in control of life, time, nature or others. Accept that God is.
By adopting this mindset, we more easily make the greatest difference possible. When we move into the future by the bidding of our Master, striving for His will, expanding His kingdom, we will be less stressed, less touchy, less concerned with what we can do and more concerned with what He has done.
Moving into this year with the Lord, chasing His desires for ourselves and the church, we will find ourselves at the doorstep of another year 12 months from now, but with a greater sense of accomplishment and impact. We can begin 2018 knowing that we made much more change than we did in 2016.
Will we?
