I have never been a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. Even in my younger years, I didn’t understand why people would wait until December 31st to decide to make a change. To me, it felt more like the same type of effort you put into blowing out your birthday candles and making a wish. The older you get, the more you realize that wishes and resolutions often collect dust in the corner of our minds after just a short period of time.
As luck would have it, my first-born child was born on New Year’s Day. We often will talk about how the rest of the world is out at fancy parties as they celebrate the HOPE of a New Year. Instead, for us, we are celebrating another year of life, which often comes with fond memories of the past and how fast she is growing up. This year Alyse will be 15, and to be honest it scares the crap out of me and no matter how much I would prefer to keep her little, the world keeps on spinning.
As the hope of the New Year arrives, we would encourage you to continue dreaming, wishing but also playing. As I watch my daughter grow, I can already begin to see her stop shooting for the ceiling on her dreams. What happens as we age that we no longer believe we are capable of big, big things? Is it the failure we have experienced throughout the years? Do we grow tired of reaching for the stars? Have we surrounded ourselves with people that do not speak life into us but instead cast doubt?
My prayer for you this next year is to keep dreaming, keep reaching for all the things you wanted when you were young and to find hope within all you have already obtained. We forget that dreaming brings joy, failure produces better results and friendships either feed or feast off of you. It’s never too late to make little changes in life. This alone makes me realize why I never have been a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions… They encourage large drastic changes, things we wouldn’t do except on New Year’s Day. I personally don’t believe that the biggest changes in life come from huge 180-degree turns. In my experience they come from small victories every day.
Between you and me… I think you have a lot of victorious moments ahead. You have just as much potential as a 15-year-old with their entire life ahead of them, and more actually, because you bring along life lessons and experience to help navigate the road ahead.
We are truly wishing our community a very Happy New Year and all the joy this world has to offer.
