One day while scrolling Facebook an item caught my eye. It promised to reveal the two words that would be key in my life in the new year, based on my birth month.
“Why not check it out?” I thought. Though I am not a believer in astrology, curiosity caused me to discover what my two crucial words were for the future.
The first word was “change.” What a no-brainer! Every zodiac sign could legitimately have that word as a guiding star. Every life changes, not just from year to year, but from day to day. The mystery is in the nature of the change.
I tend to group my life events into three categories—the church life, the work life and the home life. 2022 saw the pastor leave the church I attend. The search was on for a new pastor. 2023 will most likely see a new pastor installed. I hear there is hope that it won’t be long before a new pastor is called. The mystery will be what changes (if any) he institutes in the church or its program of worship. I think he will be hard pressed to outdo his predecessor.
Last year also saw a change in local politics. Unrest in the school system during the past year resulted in changes on the school board and the ultimate retirement of my immediate supervisor, the director of schools. It further resulted in my appointment as interim director of schools. That appointment has proven a definite learning experience that has, hopefully, made me a better person, as all learning experiences should. It seems imminent that a new director of schools is in the process of being appointed to hopefully take office in early 2023.
My home life was blessed in 2022. I am closer to being debt free than in a long while. A couple of bad decisions on my part in hiring home improvement workers will result in wiser choices in the future, though the ramifications of those bad decisions will keep me busy for a great part of 2023.
2022 also saw a huge addition to my book collection. I suppose my great love of books goes back to my historical hero, Abraham Lincoln, who is credited with saying “My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read.”
I find it difficult to turn down the free gift of any book. Several good friends cleaned their houses in 2022 and gave me their old books. For the first time in many years I find myself without shelf space to house these latest treasures.
This is where the second key word for my 2023 comes into play. My contentment will come in great part from a return to the organization I knew as a younger man. Acquiring more space to house those unshelved treasures is a huge part of this plan. Hopefully at this point in 2023 I will be able to see a portion of my house repurposed to display most, if not all, of these wonderful books.
It is not only books that need organization. I also have many personal/business papers, photographs and record albums to review/listen to and file in their proper locations, not just at home but also at work.
Before I knew it, I had, for the first time in many years, formulated my New Year’s resolutions! I stopped making resolutions for myself a long time ago because it seemed I never followed through, and I got tired of lying to myself. But 2023 will be different!
I began my process this fall by refitting a closet to organize some of my clothes and financial papers. The process is continuing as I am repainting a bedroom to house not only some of the overflow of books I have but to retrieve my mother’s cedar bedroom suite from its 14 years in storage.
Now there is a bathroom, kitchenette and hallway to repaint, and shelves to build/install down the hallway for books. And then . . . ?
The Scriptures tell us to “Let all things be done decently and in order” (I Corinthians 14:40). My wish for you, Dear Reader, is that 2023 brings with it pleasant changes and that you are more contented at this time next year than you are now. May you and your families have the Happiest the New Year can bring.