Tag Archives: new year

2020 Vision

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I have a friend who has a whole collection of those little drug store reader glasses. He needs them to read, but keeps leaving pairs behind when they were of no use to him. Then, he ends up purchasing a new pair because he can’t remember where the old pair are! I’m nearsighted, so wear my glasses to see distances and drive. I’ve hit that age, however, when I need to take off my glasses to read small print, or thread a needle. I’m afraid I might eventually have a collection of drug store readers of my own one day! The Mitton crew are prone to vision issues (apparently!) and 5 out of 6 of us have glasses.

Why do I mention our vision delinquencies? It’s what I’ve been musing about since “2020” is approaching soon… “2020”… of the Gregorian calendar, the 2020th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 20th year of the 3rd millennium, the 20th year of the 21st century, and the 1st year of the 2020s decade. Apparently, it will also be a leap year. All special, if you are into that kinda thing. Fireworks, champagne toasts and midnight kisses for you all! But when I hear 2020, I tend to think of vision. It’s actually “normal” vision according to the optometrists…not exactly “perfect”, but the most accurate when it comes to reading that little eye chart at the office.

Vision can mean more than just eyesight though. Think visions and dreams. Something you imagine. It could be literal or figurative. Vision as in great plans for the future. New Year resolutions? Goals? How interesting that it all comes together under this concept of what we call “vision”. A new year, a new decade even… and the internet will be all a buzz on the top 10’s of the past — with great predictions for the future. What will happen in this new year? How will our lives change? How will we change the lives of others?

Now, I am a big believer in goal setting. I’m not very good at always achieving the goals… but I love to have a plan. I love a good list and work best when checking off the steps. Unfortunately, life does not always work in perfect little check marked boxes. Our lives are influenced by others, by our circumstances, and all the tiny nuances that ebb and flow in our life journeys. Our visions are hampered by our own guilt, shame and sin. We do not have perfect vision. We cannot see, nor predict, what lies ahead. We are like my friend, and leave behind our readers when we don’t need them. Or maybe like me, who must purposefully put aside our glasses when we feel the need to focus on the tiny things in life, when we should be casting our eyes to a wider view of the world.

So, my dear reader, what will your vision be for this 2020 year? Will the Lord be your vision? Like the words of the ancient, Irish Hymn… “Be thou my Vision, oh Lord of my heart…” Will you seek His will and trust in His plans for your life? Will you be devoted to learning all you can to make Heaven’s joys your personal goals? Will you be seeking riches and empty praises of people, or will you dwell in the beauty of Heaven’s sun? Keeping your vision clear and unclouded by the world around us?

It won’t be as easy as reading all the letters on the eye chart. We will forget our specs and abandon them when we think we don’t need the help. We will take our eyes off the goals and focus on our own insecurities and narrow minded points of convergence. Some of us will grow weary of sight and need extra help. Perhaps bifocals, transitions or permanent laser surgery will be metaphors for our pruning and molding this next year. All necessary to improve our vision. But my wish for you in this new year, this new decade, this year with an extra day… is that you will be seeing 2020, and that whate’er befall… He will still be your vision, O Ruler of all…

Never heard of this ancient hymn mentioned above? Check out my facebook page… I’ll post the lyrics there! Like what you read? Join the adventure! I’d love to have you along as a subscriber and join me each week in 2020! (Click on the little follow button on the sidebar and enter your email address!)

New Beginnings

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“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJ 2000 Version)

Happy New Year!! I love a new beginning! That moment when you crack the spine of a brand new book, the joy and sweet smell of a newborn baby still all tiny and wrinkly, a brand new box of crayons — still pristine, with sharpened points ready for creating! There is just something about a clean slate that gives us hope. It is exactly what this verse is telling us… our past person is no longer… God has made us new and improved! Full of potential and hope!

Many of you know that I like to dabble in crafting and have been a big scrapbooker for many years. My scrapping friends like to tease me, because after I finish a page (or layout, as the proper term is…) I tend to tidy up my space before I begin the next one… it’s kind of a funny quirk I have… perhaps it is because I am used to working in a small craft space and need to give myself some room. Maybe I just like to start fresh. To get the creative juices flowing again. To begin with a clean slate. The first day of school is like that for me too. New teachers, new grade, new school supplies. It’s a chance to start, again, with new possibilities for learning, new friendships to develop, new skills to learn and master. That new box of crayons!

And so, as we enter in to a new year, I am again reminded of all things “new”. I look back and reflect to a time when I was younger and tried to keep up with the newest trends and fashion. Truth be told, part of me still succumbs to that drive for perfection… but I have a new goal for 2019… to try and live simply. To let “stuff” go a little, to use less, to be less consumed by the pettiness of this world. Even that has become trendy though… and the new and improved lifestyles of the younger generation is one of minimalist living. We easily fall into the trap of judging others based on how they choose their lifestyles. It’s a complicated world, isn’t it?

When I was much younger, 2 Corinthians 5:17 was a verse that a very wise Sunday school teacher made us memorize. I was (and still am) terrible at memorizing, so I had to say it over and over again. The verse’s message is simple and yet so profound. We became completely new in Christ when we gave our lives to Him. That is the hope that we have for new beginnings. That is that fresh new baby in the manger smell (okay maybe not that smell…) It’s that blank slate that cleanses us of the past. It allows us the freedom to simply be a child again; to put away the old things that tend to crush our spirits, that make us heavy with the burdens of adulthood, that weigh us down.

Perhaps this last year has been a difficult one for you. Perhaps you have suffered loss and pain and heartache. Perhaps you simply want a clean slate with less “bad” and more “good”. That’s the thing about the new box of crayons… sometimes you gotta ruin that beautiful pristine point to get all the beautiful colours down on paper.

So… as we begin a new year of muses together, rejoice in the hope we have for that new beginning, the one that makes us new creations in Christ. The old has gone, the new has come… the clean slate is ready and you have a brand new box of crayons….happy colouring!!