Nothing New Under the Sun

As I reflect on the year 2010 I am reminded that there really isn’t anything new under the sun. I think deep inside as I begin a new year I want to believe that this year will somehow been absolutely the best ever.

The reality is, very little in life changes.

There will always be death, pain and suffering. Weaknesses will be used against you. Rape, murder, suicide and genocide will continue in the new year. Millions of babies will be slaughtered.

Jobs will be lost. Home’s foreclosed on. Homeless wandering the streets. The poor will still be poor. The government still corrupt.

Betrayal by a friend or loved one will break a heart. Friends will be disappointed, disillusioned and neglected.

I will not mean to but I will hurt a friend by words I say or by my actions. I will fail to meet their expectations. I will fail as a mother, wife and friend in some form at some point in the year.

Wait! But “What about all the good that happens!”

Two people will fall in love and begin a life together. Babies are born. Lives are saved. Homeless are feed. Souls saved. Churches built.

Friendships made. Relationships restored. Memories are made. Families celebrate.

Yes, each year brings both the good and the bad. Those events in our life that cause us to rejoice and to weep.

I guess as I sit here and ponder the year 2010 I realize that in many ways not much changes. Life continues on and that could sound depressing or meaningless but as one who believes in the eternal I see things a little different.

This year I don’t want to just live life as I have. It’s not that my life has been lived badly at all or even without purpose. I just want to live with a total eternal perceptive.

I don’t want to spend another year getting caught up in the worlds trappings of what life should be like. I don’t want to live my life according to what the church says it should look like.

I don’t want to be the friend you want me to be. Or the wife my husband wants or the mother my children want.

This year I want to become the woman God wants me to be. I want to pursue God in a way that is new, fresh and filled with passion. I want His life to pour out of my life.

2011 may not be any different than 2010. The world may look and feel the same. My own circumstances may never change.

But this is my prayer…

…that I am not the same and therefore maybe, just maybe a small circle in my life will have changed.

“The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments…” (Ecc 12:13a)