Fresh starts
Posted by Alli on November 9, 2010
In life we stumble through so many “fresh starts.”
January 1st is a pretty popular one. It is a time of year for reflection on the past and planning the steps to make the next year even better. We make lists, set goals, plot paths to make sure the next 365 days are filled with greatness and meaning. “This year I’m going to travel to all states that border my state and then I’m going to…”
Some of us see each month as a fresh start, with new dates of appointments, events, and deadlines fill our calendars. “Just wait until we get to March, then things will start to change…”
Mondays represent fresh starts because it is the beginning of a new week, a whole seven days to get through until our next Monday, when we throw off the stale and find the freshness all bright eyed and hopeful for the good things to be found. “I’ll start my diet on Monday…”
And then, there is the personal fresh start we each get once a year, the birthday! Though it doesn’t get the fireworks and worldy stature of a holiday (unless you happen to have been born on a holiday), it is a fresh start I think most of us take personally and maybe even rely on to assist us in moving in a forward motion through life. “When I turn 40 I’m going to write a book…”
Today’s my birthday.
I’m 34 and while it doesn’t have the pomp and circumstance that a number that ends in a 5 or a 0 does, I do find myself using 34 as a stepping stone to give myself a fresh start and desire to pray, plan, and plot my way to 35. But I think first I have to follow some advice my husband was giving Fuller last night- “After a play, you need to look back and ask yourself, Did I do that right or wrong? If you did it right, then think about the steps you took to do it right. If you did it wrong, then think about what you needed to do to make it right.” (That is a loose transcript. Also, he was referring to football, not life pathways.)
At the beginning of 2010 I made a list of “pictures” of my life. Since my birthday is so close to the end of the year, it seems to be a good time to look at the list and see how the pictures developed. I’m not going to do it right here in this blog post, but it is one way I’m using my fresh start. I’ll see if any of those pictures are going to come out ok.
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