A Thought For The Week Of December 31

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:33) I've often wondered why we make such a big thing about the start of a new year? So many people seem to have a desire to lose themselves in an orgy of excess as another begins, and there are times when I've wondered if it isn't a chance to escape the inevitable meaning of the start of a new year: time's passage, with the reality that life is passing as well, and that there are moments we can never recapture; regrets that we can never overcome. Such is reality. On New Year's Eve I often think about these words of Jesus. Jesus speaks of tomorrow, but he might as well have spoken of yesterday as well. Many people worry about tomorrow and what it will bring, and many people can't let go of yesterday and what it brought. I think that one thing Jesus was trying to tell us was that being burdened by either the future or the past is pointless, since we can't do anything about either. What's happened has happened; what will be will be. We can control today, and we have to live, as best we can, in a way that's true to ourselves and, hopefully, faithful to God, trusting God to be with us in the present, just as he's been with us in the past and will be in the future. The past is gone, and God holds the future. I choose to live today with trust in God to guide me through this day. I hope you will too. Have a great week, and a great start to a new year.