A new year always begins with such hope and optimism.  It’s a chance for a fresh start, a new beginning filled with resolutions and good intentions. We are bombarded with advertisements for diet plans, exercise equipment, and gym memberships.

Although it is the dead of winter and the weather is bleak and gray, there is still a feeling of newness in the air. The old year has ended and the promise of a new year stretches before us like a brand new, untraveled road.  We exchange yesterday’s regrets for tomorrow’s promises. Happy New Year!

As much as we would like to plan each detail of the year and predict its outcome, the reality is that all we really have is this day. Life is doled out to us in 24-hour increments and God set it up that way from the very beginning.  Genesis 1:5 says “God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night, and the evening and the morning were the first day.” We live one day at a time because today is all we have.  We can’t undo what was done yesterday or get a head start on tomorrow.  But we can make today terrific.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “today is the first day of the rest of your life.”  That’s not only true, it’s encouraging because we can start anew every day. 

I do not make New Year’s resolutions; I just work to make the most of everyday, trusting that God will give me what I need for that day. As Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread” (provision).

At times life can present challenges that make even getting through a 24 hour period seem impossible. I have lived through seasons when I wasn’t even sure how I would survive a day; so I learned to live hour-to-hour and sometimes even moment-to-moment. But I found that God met me in each moment. 

It’s easy to be so consumed with getting through the day that we neglect the wonder of the moment. Each moment can be special. As one sage put it, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Practice living in the moment.

“One day at a time–this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.” – Unknown

 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24, ESV).