The Rest is Still Unwritten

Well, today is January 1, 2013!! Happy New Year!! 

All day yesterday and even this morning when I woke up, my head was swirling with thoughts of this last year, and goals for my future. Thoughts of what I hope to see out of 2013. I'm not big on resolutions (for various reasons). But in all honesty, how many of us set resolutions and then by January 20th we've forgotten about them or given up on them. We get wrapped up sometimes in pressuring ourselves to reach these goals that we forget our purpose. We set goals and resolutions because it's a new year. We wipe the slate clean and we want to start fresh. We want to do better, be better, and ultimately have people see us as... better...! In the midst of all this hard work, we become frustrated and give up. We put pressure on ourselves to transform but give ourselves no grace. We feel we've failed after one mistake... and that's not just pertaining to resolutions. Often times we have things in our mind that we want to accomplish and at the first sign of a mistake or lack of results that we expect, we stamp it with "failure". I know it's totally cliche to say "we learn from our mistakes", or something to that effect. We've all heard that and clearly we dismiss it as something that doesn't pertain to us, because we should be super heroes right?!?! I'm not sure where that mentality comes from but I know I have done this a number of times.

This morning as I was picking all of this apart and bouncing around thoughts of my own hopes and expectations for this year. I kept thinking to myself, "What will I do if I don't meet my own expectations?" "What will I do if I don't reach goals I give myself this year?" ...And I came to this conclusion... I don't want to be like everyone else... if you don't know me that well or haven't figured out by now, going against the grain is kind of "my thing"!! I don't want to do things like everyone else. I don't want to fit a mold. I don't want to be a "copy-cat". On the other hand I also don't want to go through life with a whimsical mentality that every day is rainbows and butterflies. So this year, I am living everyday as January 1. Everyday is a new day. Everyday is an opportunity. Everyday is a chance to make a choice. I will give everyday the best that I have. The days that are good, I will thank God. The days that are bad, I will thank God. The days that I feel accomplished will be unto the Lord, and the days that I feel like I can't go on will be unto the Lord. I'm not giving myself a goal or resolution but I suppose this in itself could be viewed as such. Do I have goals, of course, and aspirations for 2013, but I will not allow the pressure of meeting them dictate who I am or who I become this year! My journey through 2013 will be full of choices and happenings, some within my control and others beyond my control. That is this thing we are part of called Life.

Enjoy 2013... Wipe the slate clean each day. Give yourself a break once in awhile. And remember to give others the same grace you'd wish upon yourself on the roughest of days. You never know where another person's journey is headed or where they've just been. 

Here's to 2013...The Rest is Still Unwritten!