Onward
It’s here! 2014 is here and we can’t help but ask ourselves the reverberating question… “where did the time go?” For some, the end of 2013 came with flash and pizzaz, and others possibly a quiet melancholy. There are those who, with great strategy and discipline, crossed out every line on their 2013 “to do” list in an effort to kick off the New Year with a blank slate. Others carry over the load from one year to the next hoping to get their “resolutions” jump started by Valentine’s Day. Amongst the vast array of characters, the New Year beckons from each one to move onward. There is no discrimination from the New Year, it arrives for all of us. There is no judgement of where we have gone or where we plan on going. Time doesn’t stop if we have fallen behind nor respite to give applause when we have finished first. It is steadfast, ever-changing, omnipresent, and a guarantee in life that there will be more than one second chance for all of us. Naturally when the clock strikes 12, we celebrate!
With the arrival of a New Year I am reminded that time itself has absolutely no expectation on us. It is the one thing in life we are given an excess of and the only thing that it really requires of us in return is to move onward along with it. A fair request, don’t you think? I can’t help but feel convicted by my ongoing peeves with Ole Father Time. I often act as if it moves by faster than I can keep up with, get angry when it catches me off guard, or have constant fear and anxiety over how there never seems to be enough when I need it. The harsh reality is that my qualm isn’t really with time itself but how I balance the time allotted me.
This year, Kevin and I are committed to taking a hard look at how we dedicate our time. With the promise of another full year ahead we are encouraged by the fact that we have yet another chance to realign our priorities as we move onward. We are willing to shed the idea that we have to do, be, and act perfectly, as the pursuit of that kind of vanity breeds the idea that time is never on our side or that we are living in some infinite rivalry. Rather we are hoping to move forward in 2014 being armed with the attributes of faith, generosity, community, compassion, stewardship, creativity, patience, hope, and love. Be encouraged this New Year that time is on your side and that each tic of the clock is another stroke of grace and mercy bestowed.
