I just read a post on Facebook where someone said they were tired of people saying there was a new year coming with people who say they will turn a new leaf and be a new person.  This person declared to all that no one had to worry.  He was going to be the same ole crass person next year as much as he was this year  I’m putting it politely.

I know it was a tongue-in-cheek comment, but think about how many people are actually like that.  No ambition, so direction, just following what’s hot in the moment.

I can’t live that way.  I have to move forward in the passing of time whether it’s a new year or not.  I’m blessed with a relationship with God.  I have a wonderful wife who has the most open spirit of anyone I know.  She wants all of God she can scoop up.

This new year finds me retired, but aside from that it’s only a change of responsibilities.  I left one set of them for another.  The challenges of life are still present.  Circumstances are still rolling in and like tests when I was in school I have to learn in them and pass through them on to a newer bigger challenge or test.

When I was a young man I would have been crushed under the weight of some of the things I’ve had to encounter in the progression of my years.  Smaller tests became bigger tests and learning how to handle them by seeking God’s answer and applying the direction made me stronger in the passing of time.

I did things as a young man that should have gotten me some serious trouble, but God covered me.  Looking back I see how much He covered me.  That’s why today I know I’m blessed.

I have watched certain people struggle with life.  I watch them fall by their own circumstance.  I’ve listened to some who tried to justify why they did what they did at the time, but failed miserably and later on paid a dear price for those inept decisions.  Some I know their background and know why they did some of the things they did.  They had no one to show them the right way to do things in life.  They were hobbled from their youth.

I’ve watched young people walk away from bad situations only to walk right back into them and then get a double portion of the same test again.  I can’t tell people what to do unless they ask for help.  Have you ever tried to give unsolicited advice?  Most times it doesn’t work, but if they were to sit down and honestly open up to me or someone who has walked like I have we could help avoid serious life mistakes.

I know that perhaps I should use the “Don’t touch fire, it burns” type of advice, but a child will be hell-bent on finding out for themselves.  I prefer to be like the husbandman of the orchard.  I will not pick fruit before it’s time.  I have to know they are ready for the pickin’.  Then I know what I say will embed itself in their spirits as seeds in the ground.  Then what comes of it is a more flourishing crop.  Be wise, but have wisdom when to speak.

So, who are you going to be this coming year?  Are you going to proclaim another empty resolution?  Or are you actually going to put yourself to the test?