It's a new year

Today is the first day of the New Year. 2010. A new decade too. We'll see what the future holds for us. It's one thing to sit and dream about where you'll be in 5 or 10 years. What will your life be like? Family? Job? Home? It's another thing entirely to look back and see where you've come in the same amount of time.

I was sitting around the house today and asked Meredith (my wife) what she thought we'd be up to in 5 years. She didn't really know. Not that I expected her to. It made me think about what we were doing 5 years ago. 5 years ago we had just gotten married the previous summer. We were living in our first apartment. I was still working for a cellular communications company at a retail outlet. We were attending a well known and successful (in some ways) mega church. Fast forward 5 years to today and it's a bit different. We now own a house and have for almost three years. We have two children. I work as a marketing consultant for a media company. Meredith stays home with the children and works part-time. We are involved in planting a community of Christians (also successful in some ways) that uses a bar in downtown Buffalo as it's public homebase. A lot can change in 5 years.

We've been blessed in many ways in the past 5 years. I can see God's working in our lives and those around us. I've certainly had my share of failures. I've done some stupid things and said some stupid things too. Some things change and some things stay the same. Good thing God's grace is more tolerant than my will is obedient. While I strive to follow Christ in action I've seen myself take a back seat in order to fit in. Sometimes just out of selfishness. This is the thing that I'd like to see change in the next 5 years. Perhaps sooner? That certainly would be welcome.

So we'll see what the future holds for us. I hope that your future brings you greater hope and greater closeness to our creator. Greater purpose and vision. Greater clarity and wisdom. Most of all, greater relationships that have a greater impact on our communities.

Happy New Year.