Day 20: Beginning Again

Some mornings, I get up, greet the day and am so enthusiastic about what's ahead. Other days, admittedly, I'm not quite as excited about what the day might bring. It is part of the human condition that we have ups and downs. Without that ability, we also would lose our ability to care, one way or another about life. Setting small goals to achieve in every area of our life helps with staying positive, content when emotionally we might not "feel" all that positive.

For me, I need to try to set the tone for my day, every morning. I make coffee, get my devotional books and Bible and get ready to refuel for the day. I read three devotional books every morning, Streams in the Desert, My Upmost for His Highest, and A Gentle Spirit. These three books present uplifting and challenged messages daily that help me realize, yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not yet here, but staying focused on what we can do now can make all the difference in our own world and maybe someone else's.

Presently I'm trying to read a chapter of Psalms and a chapter of Proverbs daily. I do this with the expectation that where my own powers of apprehension fall short, God can use the Word to rebuild, and restore my spirit so that I become better equipped to become the person I'm supposed to be.

Like everyone else, I fall short of achieving my goals. I try not to avoid facing my shortcomings, but try to take daily inventory. I ask God to forgive me, try to forgive myself and attempt to have the good grace to ask forgiveness of anyone else I may have offended. The more I continue to do this process, the clearer my spirit and heart become and the happier I feel. It doesn't insure that problems and pressures won't continue to come; it doesn't insure that I will consistently make the right decisions; but it does insure more often than not I am increasingly becoming a better person.

The main thing in life is not giving up; to realize that each day is a succession of "beginning agains" and that it is as we gather strength from God, our friends, and experience we can get up, dust ourselves off and hold our heads up high as we meet the next set of challenges.

I love the fact that God gives second chances, (and thirds, fourths....). With God's help I will gain the strength to not be what I was, to be better than I am now and to constantly cultivate a spirit of thankfulness for the journey.

Today, dare to believe that you can begin again. Be honest with yourself, seek God, and realize today is a new beginning.

Those that sow in tear shall reap in joy. Psalms