From the Ranch

From the Ranch

Monday, January 4, 2016

A New Year, New Possibilities, Hopes, Dreams, and Goals

Life is such a complex and evolving thing.  So many changes, stresses, and challenges are faced by each of us because of the time in which we live.  Technology has complicated most lives in our world.  I am sure there are still some who are not "connected," but that number dwindles daily.  Technology has also made our lives easier, but the true wonder of our gadgets and access to the world wide web lies in our ability to connect much more personally to so many more people in a life time, and that now affects my goals and aims in life.

 Fireworks over Wiesbaden, Germany on New Year's Eve

I am looking, as I always do, at my life this first work week of the New Year. Since I know I am an eternal being, and this life is only a journey to my lasting life, I want to follow the lead of my husband.  My husband is able to get more out of each day than anyone I have ever known.  He loves life, is always in a positive mood, no matter what challenges he faces, and accomplishes more than any other five people I know in a given day.  In Ranger School he claimed a mantra which he has kept for a life time, "If the man in front of me can do it, so can I."  He completed Ranger School and was awarded an "Iron Mike" by those evaluating his performance, and he almost drown in the process. That is an especially coveted award given in the Army.  My husband received three from those who served along side him during his career.  That mantra of his distinguishes a man from his peers always, and brings either admiration or resentment from those around him.


Of course in me it brings great admiration, because I know him best of all who know him.  I watch what he accomplishes daily, and I try to keep up.  That is an impossibility for me, even as we walk together, he must put thought and effort into slowing his gait, as he takes one step for every two I must take just to walk beside him.  That isn't taking into account the speed with which he moves, as I often say, "with my husband, everything is a road march!" Footwear is sometimes an issue too, he always goes for functionality, and well, I do love little red heels...





As I said, in my planning today, I am looking at ways to accomplish all that my limited energies and resources will produce each day, because we only have any given day once, and it faces each of us as a blank canvas each morning.  There may be incidents where things which are out of our own control, dictate the colors and brushes with which we must work to produce our day's painting, but still the control of those tools and resources remain completely in our own control.  How we use what we are given determines the satisfaction or disappointment we can claim at the end of each 24 hours.  I know of certainty that planning is important in producing work that pleases both God and myself.  Always I try to remember that the One I want to please most with my efforts is my Lord and Savior, and that my planning should be conducted with that goal in mind.