I saw a commercial the other day advertizing...well, to be honest, I don't remember what it was advertizing. But I do remember what it was about.
There was a phrase in it that really caught my attention: "What if we celebrated every new day like we do the new year?" Then it showed several people at a variety of different dates and places throwing confetti and blowing noise makers when the clock stroked midnight.
Apparently the point of this commercial didn't mean much to me or I would remember what it actually was. But the part that I do remember was very striking to me.
What if we toasted with champaign, gave a new day's kiss, blew noise makers, and screamed "Happy New Day!" every night? What if we threw major parties every night just to bring in the new day? What if we got excited for every new day, not knowing for sure what it would hold? What if instead of new year's resolutions, we made new day's resolutions? What if we treated every new day like it was a gift?
What if every new day IS a gift?
You know that feeling of "December 31st is here again. Time to bring in the new year by limiting my facebook time and losing 25 pounds by March."
What if we changed that feeling to "Tomorrow is a new day. I'm going to celebrate by giving God the glory, thanking him for His grace, and resolving to read my Bible today."?
Bringing in the new year is, I think, one of the most fun traditions that our society has. This year we hosted a party at my house, played ping pong, ate more food than our stomachs could handle, and when midnight rolled around we blew noise makers and screamed at the top of our lungs for a solid 6 minutes. If that is not an awesome tradition, than I don't know what is.
New Year's is fun, but so often we forget about New Day's.
We forget that every day is a gift.
We forget that we do not deserve to be living on this earth in luxury.
We forget that God has gifted each and every day to us out of His loving kindness, grace, and mercy.
I'm not saying that we need to stay up until twelve every night and scream for 6 minutes straight, but I am saying that we should not take our lives for granted. We should not merely go through the motions of day-to-day life and not even stop to smell the roses. Not even stop to have some fun. Not even stop to pray. To thank God for what He has done for and given us. To thank Him for today. Not even stop to feel the all-comsuming love of Jesus Christ in our lives. Not even stop to acknowlege Him.
So as you bring in the New Year and set impossible goals for yourself, remember to also, bring in the New Day and set more achievable ones for today.
Trust in the Lord always. He know what today holds. He knows what 2011 holds.
"We don't know what 2011 holds.
But we know Who holds 2011."
-Josh McPherson
"I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"
-Matthew West
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."
-Lamentations 3:22,23
