Many Things About Tomorrow

Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand; but I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know Who holds my hand. — Christian song.

I don’t know who wrote those lyrics nor the melody but it certainly fits today, doesn’t it? The Old Year is nearly a thing of the past. The New Year is eagerly waiting to make his entrance. As I sit here with my cup of coffee, I think that it would be nice if we could just close the door on the problems of 2015, declare them solved, and start off with all things new for 2016. Those who are sick would be well; those struggling with finances would be affluent; we’d be shed of heartache and loneliness; misunderstandings and hurt feelings would be resolved, and the slate would really be clean.

That, of course, won’t happen. Many of those problems we have today will follow us, like Joe Btfsplk’s rain cloud (Li’l Abner comics) into 2016. We can’t change a lot of things, much as we’d like to. We can, however, change our attitudes. And that makes all the difference in a New Year.

My dad used to tell me, “Life is not what you make it; it’s how you take it.” I didn’t understand at the time, but I do now! Problems can really get us down or we can get the best of them.

And, if anyone ever knew the truth of that adage, it was Dad and Mom. They faced heartbreak, set-backs, things that I hope I never have to face, yet they came through. My dad did not become bitter or weak. He loved to sing, to jig dance, to play horseshoes and checkers. Mom loved her flowers and her friends. When I heard Mom whistling a tune, all was right with my world. And they both loved their children and grandchildren.

My ancestors lived through the War Between the States and, let me tell you, those of us in the South had to have strength to get through the horrors and deprivations that involved. But, they made it and their courage is an inspiration to me.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass – Psalm 37:5

I think about an airplane and the wind it flies into. When I flew to Ireland, there were times we met with turbulence and the airplane shook and the “fasten seat belts” sign came on. At such times, I was uncomfortably aware that there was no place to land; all that was beneath the airplane was the broad and deep Atlantic. But, the plane kept flying. The wings were designed so that the wind which caused such anxiety also gave lift to the plane. And, in spite of the head winds and because of skilled engineers who designed the plane and skilled pilots who understood it, we kept flying.

This New Year, I’m sure, will have its share of head winds. Brand-new problems will arise and a lot of the old ones will tag along too. But, we don’t have to let them take us down. With faith in God and the knowledge that those who have gone before us also faced hardships and came through them, we can too. We need faith in Someone stronger than we are; we need to remember the courage of those who lived before us and faced each of their New Years with hope and determination.

A very old poem by Louisa Fletcher begins like this:  “I wish that there were some wonderful place called The Land of Beginning Again, where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and all of our poor, selfish grief could be shed like a shabby old coat at the door and never be put on again.“

So, as much as we are able, let us shed the things from the past that would weigh us down and those things we can’t shed, let us shoulder, knowing that we don’t face 2016 alone because we know Who holds our hand.