New Year's Eve

I love New Year's Eve.  It is like when the teacher used to say, "Get out a clean sheet of paper", and you reached into your 3-ring binder, opened it, and took out a pretty, clean one.

Tomorrow begins a clean, new sheet of paper.

Years ago, I had a student with a problem.  She was such perfectionist that, if she made a mistake on her paper, she'd tear it up and start over.  Every time.  Of course, she never completed an assignment.  It didn't take long for her to work herself up into such a state that she would put her head down on her desk and quit.

I had other students who would not make a start at writing assignments.  They would take out their sheets of paper and be so afraid of failure that they would either not attempt or just barely attempt to write their stories.  The longer they hesitated, the more difficult the task became. 

Both scenarios are memories those children still remember, I have no doubt.  But, I hope they have moved past those habits in their adult lives.

Each situation described above is pertinent to thinking about New Year's Day.

Failure is a fact of life.  It does not have to be a lifestyle; still, occasional failures are a reality all of us deal with, if we live long enough.  Did you know failure goes hand-in-hand with New Year's resolutions?  In fact, if I had to choose one word that best characterizes January, I'd choose "failure"! 

The reason most New Year's resolutions fail is because most of us approach them like the little girl who made one mistake and crumpled up her paper.  We make resolutions on, or just prior to, Jan. 1st.  We inevitably lose some ground, stumble, experience setbacks or failures.....and....we throw it all over sometime in January.  We give up.  We pronounce it hopeless.

Actually, giving up is the easy route.
Much more difficult is the path of persistence.

A friend of mine posted recently about a success she had achieved over a period of months.  She said the following:
        "I didn’t start for anyone other than myself. I deserved better and my family deserved better! I’m putting this here to remind myself goals aren’t achieved over night or in 6 months. They are gradually achieved through determination." 

There is not a single doubt in my mind that my friend experienced some failures along her journey this past year.  Nor will she continue an even, unbroken path going forward.  To expect otherwise is not humanly realistic!  That's not to say we should look for failure in our New Year's resolutions, only that when we do encounter it we get right back up and sock it in the kisser!  ;)

Past failures often cause some of us to not even make New Year's resolutions, like the children who would not attempt their writing assignments.  The trick, the secret, is not to fear failure, but to harness its lessons going forward.  Failure is not usually final.  Neither is success.  Both have lessons to teach us.  Our current U.S. President had this to say about failure:
"Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war."

As Christians, let's prayerfully consider our "next steps" in 2018, and then take that next step ... after taking our resolutions to the Lord in prayer.  He is the One who orders our steps, after all (Psalm 37:23).  He's also the One who helps us when we fail, when we fall, when our humanity becomes more than our spirits can bear.

I love this quote by Oprah Winfrey, who said: 
"Think like a queen.  A queen is not afraid to fail.  Failure is another steppingstone to greatness."  Those of us who know Jesus Christ as Savior ARE children of the King, right?  That makes us princes and princesses! 

So, from one princess to another member of the "royal family", HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Go forth and do great things for God in 2018.