I love New Year's. It is my favorite of all the holidays because it signals a chance to get a "Do-over" with so many things. New Year's Day is wrought with possibilities! This could be the year when I finally get it together. I could finally get it right.
Then comes the day AFTER New Year's Day and life returns to normal. What then?
Today I awoke with a nagging pain in my knee from the 7+ miles I ran yesterday - part of my "resolve" to get back to running seriously. I ate a pop-tart for breakfast after sleeping late for the last time during this break from school. So much for healthy eating and making every minute count! The kids came home from an exciting trip last night and the house looks a bit like a tornado ripped through it. Goodbye organization dreams. The cupboard is bare which means I have to go get some serious groceries - but I have no real idea what to cook that the "boy" will eat so toodle-lou to plans to keep the budget and eat healthy....plus I am seriously a lousy cook.
It's the day AFTER New Year's and all the glittery dreams seem to have lost their shine and been replaced with reality. I'm not a big fan of reality right now.
Reality says if I want to eat healthy I'm going to have to plan and purchase healthy food and PREPARE it myself. Reality says if I want to run I have to realize I'm not as young as I once was and I'll have to keep at it - slow and steady. Reality says that having children, while a joy, is messy and expensive. Reality is just so....REAL!
New Year's Day is filled with hopes and dreams and the day AFTER is the day when you realize that hopes and dreams take hard work!
It's not just the New Year's Day hopes that make a difference, it's the days AFTER that do.
Come to think of it, New Year's is a lot like raising children. New Year's Day is always pictured as a baby. It is like the welcoming of a new child into the family. At first it's all joy, but the question is what will we do when the reality of child rearing shows itself? What will we do with that sparkly new "baby" new year once it starts soiling its diapers and screaming all hours into the night. When that "baby" starts talking back and telling us "NO!", what then? I'm guessing like any good parent, we hold our ground and remember the hope and precious moments that came with this baby. When our new year gets expensive with unexpected bills, will we take a deep breath and trust that God knew about this far before we did and has a plan? When our new year starts acting like a sullen teenager, will we do what is right - even if it's tough. When it comes with sleepless nights of worry because of "decisions" this new year has seem to have made, will we trust our Heavenly Father with that which we cannot control? When the reality of raising this child comes fully into view, how will we do?
We have been given the job of raising another year. There will be good times, bad times, and everything in between. Let's remember to enjoy every second of it because too soon it will be gone and our chance to "raise this child" will be done.
Happy day AFTER New Year's Day. Let's make it a great one.
Replace the word "child" with New Year and I'll think you'll see how these apply. The Proverbs 29 one is my favorite when applied to the New Year!
“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. (1 Samuel 1:27–28)
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)
Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire. (Proverbs 29:17)
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. (Luke 2:40)
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