by Jason Yarbrough
For many of us it seems that our most anticipated Christmas gift comes each year not really on December 25th, but actually about one week later. To be sure, Christmas is a wonderful time for gifts and most importantly, family–especially now that I'm a parent. It's great fun to watch my kids excitedly tear open the wrapping paper and impatiently try to determine what new treasure awaits for them inside.
But for those of us old enough to have unfortunately experienced regret in our lives, we often desire a different kind of gift: one more opportunity for a new beginning–one more chance to chart a new course and do things right this time.
Thank God for January 1st! It always brings with it a wonderful opportunity for new year's resolutions and fresh starts. And for a few days–maybe even weeks–everything's good, maybe even great. We join a gym, watch what we eat, read our Bibles a little more, and do our best to live right. We spend more time with our kids, do some nice things for our spouse and try to be better friends and neighbors. Maybe we even get a little radical and try to watch a little less TV and pick up a book!
We're certainly full of good intentions, but somehow–sooner or later–good intentions fade, replaced by old habits with which we are altogether too familiar. And just like a old pair of comfortable shoes, we slip right into one more year of "next year" aspirations.
Why so often do our once great intentions end up discarded on the giant ash heap of our memories? And before you think I'm being a bit melodramatic, stop and think about how many resolutions you've actually kept from last year...and the year before–if we can remember them, that is.
Recently, I'm becoming more aware that the reason for my predisposition to not finishing what I've started isn't my lack of intention or even my initial effort. I want to change some habits in my life and become frustrated when I find myself right back where I started just a little while earlier.
Someone wise once said that the journey of a lifetime begins with a single step. Makes sense, doesn't it? But I wonder...when we take that first step do we have any actual idea where our journey will take us? Studies show that most of us aren't doing what we thought we would back when we had it all figured out in high-school. And we spend so much time planning our final destination that we miss the incredible scenery and lifelong relationships along the way.
Maybe it's more important to focus on the single step of the journey that's right in front of us than to constantly look such a great distance down the proverbial road. Maybe instead of trying to lose those 25 extra pounds this year we first try to lose five...and then five more...and then five more.
I was just 11 days old when man first walked on the moon on July 20, 1969. Astronaut Neil Armstrong spoke those now immortal words, "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." It seems that when we focus on our current step it's perhaps the best thing we can do for those around us in our immediate sphere of influence. Armstrong's words weren't just for Americans, they were intended for everyone who inhabited our planet. But it wasn't a grand proclamation of victory, it was a humble confession of co-dependency. We need each other.
So this year, let's not try to be the ultimate example of super-human perfection. There has only been (and only ever will be) one of those anyway. Instead, why don't we ask for God's help to do the best we can for today. One small step today–and tomorrow–will, by God's grace, result in one giant leap for a lifetime (and maybe we'll lose those 25 pounds along the way!)
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."
Matthew 6:34 (MES)