All around us, there are new beginnings. With schools and colleges starting once again, learning is kicking in for another year.
At my office, we counted books yesterday, in anticipation of our first parent meeting tonight. Our classes won’t begin for a few weeks, but with so many students, it takes us awhile to get everything together.
I was blessed to be able to do our book counting a coworker who is retiring today after over 30 years of service to our church. She will be greatly missed.At the same time, it’s exciting to see someone begin a new chapter in their life. None of us knows what the future holds, and yet it’s coming whether we like it or not.
As I’ve been writing over the last few weeks, it seems like more and more of our time is spent focusing on the negative aspects of our lives, rather than on the good things that are all around us. If we take the time to pay attention, I’m sure you’ll see that the good far outweighs the bad.
I’m not denying that there are troubles in each of our lives, some very serious. While I believe we should acknowledge those, I’d prefer it if we could focus on the positive aspects that are also present.
I don’t know about you, but when the book of my life is done, I want it to be filled with stories of all the wonderful things I got to do, the great people I had the chance to meet, the places I traveled, the countless blessings from God I had the joy of receiving.
Yes, there will be tales of heartache, questioning, doubt, and fear. But I trust they will be paragraphs rather than chapters. It all depends on what you want to focus on, doesn’t it?
My friends, as this day begins, we have another chance. We have lived to see another dawn. Let’s make something good of this day, shall we? Tomorrow is the first of September. I pray that it is also the first day of a long and fruitful retirement for my faithful co-worker in the vineyard.
Let’s make the stories of our lives adventure novels, shall we? Life should be exciting and filled with great things. I want my book to be a page-turner. How about you?
When people finish reading the book of my life, I want them to walk away thinking about how good God was to me, and what a blessed life I was given to opportunity to live. I hope it’s the same for your story, because it’s there for the taking.
