Opportunity Knocks

I love the wee, wee hours of the morning…especially a morning that marks the beginnings of a brand New Year.  I cannot say I’m sad to see 2011 leave.  It has definitely been one of the hardest years of my life.  I could not have known the depth of pain that mom’s homegoing would bring to my heart.  I had never truly grieved for dad’s loss…so it was a double whammy to wake one morning knowing that I’d never hear their voices again, never feel the warmth of their hugs, never hear dad trying to tell a joke and laughing before he got to the punchline, never watch mom doing her crossword puzzles or sit amazed as she answered every question on Jeopardy.  I’ll never see dad praying in his office or working on his sermon notes.  I’ll never see them smiling because they’re headed out to eat at their favorite restaurant or with favorite friends.  I’ll never hear mom answer the phone, “Hi, Tiger” with her voice up a degree because she’s glad it’s me calling.  I’ll also never disappoint them or hurt them again by failing to live up to their expectations for me.  Dad’s military background and quality service for the Lord led to some high expectations for all of us.  Sometimes I worry that my parents never truly saw how loved and happy and content my life is.  It wasn’t what they wanted for me.  But I do know this.  I loved them both so much…and they loved me in return.  And that’s a pretty incredible inheritance in a world where so many families are broken and hurting.  And so as I say goodbye to 2011, I want to finally put my parents to rest in my heart.  I want to long for the day I’ll see them again and not mourn for the days I’ve now lost.  I want to always think of them with joy, knowing they are living in the Presence of the perfect King in their perfect bodies in a perfect world designed for them by their Creator.  Not much to get sad about if I can keep that thought in place.

And so 2012 knocked on the door and showed up sometime in the middle of the night.  This year we have 366 unused days to fill…8784 hours to use…527,040 minutes.  I wonder if we kept records of our minutes like we do our checkbooks what value we’d have to show at the end of the year.  The Bible says that where our treasure is, our hearts will be there.  Time is something we all treasure.  We say that time is worth money.  So as you “withdraw” from the time bank of 2012, what will your life show about where your heart is.  Will it be spent pursuing wealth?  Will it be spent building friendships?  Will it be wasted on pursuits that benefit no one?  Will there be any eternal value to the things you’ve invested your time and money in by the end of the year? 

Time is a great equalizer.  The rich have the same 366 days that the poor have.  Beginnings are always rife with opportunity.  Are you the kind that makes plans so that you know the purpose of your days, or are you the type that just lets life happen and you go with the flow?

I have plans for the New Year.  I have plans that include a closer walk with God, taking better care of the temple He created for me to live in and learning to love more completely all the wonderful family and friends that He’s blessed my life with.  I hope to do some writing this year.  And I pray that when the time comes for me to give an accounting of my days in 2012, that God will look at the register and say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”