Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22 - 23
My computer crashed this weekend. Note that I did not say that the battery died, or it needs a new charger. No, it crashed. Everything that I have saved on the hard drive of that computer (several years of information, documents, plans, etc.) is gone. My draft for my next book -- gone. Sermons I have ministered over the years -- gone. Letters and files -- all gone. Even a presentation that I needed for work this morning -- gone. So, I have a choice to make. I can lay down on the floor of my office and have a good old "hissy fit" complete with screaming and crying, or I can start over. I can take the new computer that I have now and simply begin again. Yes, I am frustrated and saddened by all the things that are gone, but I realize there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. Crying won't change it. Fussing won't change it. There is nothing that I can do to change it. So, I choose to move forward. I'll start the book over. I'll try to salvage documents that I have emailed to people, and then I will create new ones as needed. I'll learn the lesson that losing all that information taught me (save everything to an external drive or drop box!!!), and I will move on. Do you feel like you have lost some things over the years? Have you put lots of time and energy into something only to realize that whatever it is has "crashed"? Start over! I am sure that there are areas in your life that need a fresh start anyway! Who says that you can't have a fresh start in your marriage whether you have been married 2 years or 20 years? Who says you can't have a fresh start in your ministry? You can. Determine that whatever is gone is really gone. Pick up the pieces, learn the lessons, and move forward. There is so much life left to be lived. So many dreams left to see fulfilled. Don't spend one more day focusing on what was or what you lost. Focus instead on the opportunities that you have in front of you. Determine to start your day over. Start your week over. Start the rest of your life over. God gives us new mercies everyday. We need to take full advantage of them. Maybe your morning had a rough start. Can you begin again now? Leave the events of this morning behind and determine to have a great day going forward. Maybe your spouse said something that bothered you. Can you choose to start over with them and move forward? Whatever the case may be, you can start over!
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