Resolved.

     As a new year dawns, I have that fresh feeling of starting over. It's a wonderful feeling. I think Anne Shirley describes it so well, "Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" Well, here's a new year, clean and fresh. All these days stretching out before us, like a clean slate, waiting to be filled with memories, laughter, tears, joy and pain, wonder and excitement. 

     I know this feeling of "this year's going to be the best yet" is rather cliche, but it's not an entirely unhealthy feeling, I don't think. God designed this cyclical world in a way that brings fresh starts like new days, new weeks, new months, and new years. And he wants us to feel that way because with him, starting things anew is possible. 

     Well, this year, I am resolved to relish the little things. Rejoice in the early morning light streaming in divided lines through my eastern window. Savor the sweet smell of rainy days, and the clearness of the sunny ones. Delight in the sound of laughter. Read the good books. Soak up the moonlight. Listen to the birds and the trees and the wind. Watch the sunrises and the sunsets. Enjoy homecooked meals. Sip coffee in contentment. Work hard, enjoy well deserved rests. Celebrate family and friends. Listen with wonderment to the music around me, the symphony of the lives of a million people living together in this wide, vast world.

     But, here's the thing. I know, that in order to do this, I've got to say no to the internet. Right now, I'd rather pin pictures of those happy moments, or post about them on facebook, or share a picture of them on instagram, than I would just enjoy them. There was a time--and I'm more than a little embarrassed to even tell you this--but there was a time last winter when for various reasons, I found myself home alone for the evening. Now, I love my family, I really do, but a cool, winter, night with less homework than usual, all to myself is a rather happy prospect. So I decided to grab a blanket and get lost in between the pages of a hardback. But...the moment was too good not to instagram. And the picture would really look so much better if I had a cup of tea in my anthro mug...and I definitely needed to get the lighted Christmas tree in it...and this type of evening really isn't complete without a nice, bright fire in the fireplace, so I built one... I tell you, I spent so much time making my evening look enjoyable, that I barely had time to actually enjoy it. And I think it's so easy to unconsciously go from just living life to making sure it's well documented. It's easy to get caught up in pictures because we don't want to forget whatever is going on…but if we don't put the camera down sometime, we may sacrifice actual memories for a nice looking scrapbook. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for pictures. They're great. But they aren't the real thing.

     So, I'm resolving to care less about the way my life looks on a Facebook page, and care more about my actual life. 

Happy New Year!