A New Year, A Fresh Start

We had a pretty major snow storm by North Carolina standards on Christmas Day, so I just had to go out and run in it. OK, I didn't have to, but it felt good. First and foremost, it provided me with some quiet time - I saw a few cars cautiously making their way up 74A but once I left the highway and headed up Southcliff Mountain I was alone. Literally. It was quiet as I reached the trail head which was, by now, covered with a fresh blanket of soft snow. There's no pressure to run fast in snow because you can't - for me, it makes the run that much more enjoyable. With every step, I created a new impression on the trail - one that I was able to follow back down the mountain, which made coming back down easier than anticipated. The snow was new....clean, white, fresh. As I write this blog on New Year's Eve, one which I will spend alone - I'm reminded of the fresh start we all get as the calendar rolls into yet another year. When I wake up tomorrow, it's a new day, a new year, full of opportunities to make a fresh, clean, positive impression. My past is behind me and does not define me nor does it serve to paralyze me. It has further refined me. Going forward, the imprint that I CHOOSE to continue to make on this world and the lives of others is up to me - how I invest my time and with whom I invest my self becomes my legacy. There is no room for doubt or fear as I'm reminded that any new challenge or difficulty can be met with the same faith that carried me through this past year - God is as reliable in the present and in our futures as He has been in the past. He carried me through 2010 - and he will see me through 2011. He'll be there in and through the lives of those I love and those who love me. His promise in Jeremiah (29:11) sustains me.....

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"

It's the dawn of a new year, a fresh start, a clean start. With God fully in control, I move forward filled with hope and optimism. It's time, once again, to BELIEVE!