It was a forced retirement, when this big truck was literally, put out to pasture.  In a field in Flat Rock, Alabama sits this truck, no longer useful or needed in the logging business for which it had been employed for many years.  Now, it sits neglected and forgotten; left to rust and decay as yet another year ends.  Its only redeeming value comes from providing spare parts for other trucks when people can scavenge them.

As I stand next to this old truck I try to imagine what it would say, if it could talk.  And there in the silence, as I gaze into its cracked paint, I begin to hear a sad story filled with anguish and grief as it anticipates another year filled with a merciless monotony; every day just like the one before and crammed full of the same ole same ole.  It would truly be a brutal existence to live in a world where there is no hope of change.

One of the great blessings of life is found in its great variety of experiences; not knowing what a day or a year may bring, and being filled with many unexpected blessings.  As we pause at the beginning of a new year let us look with courage and a sense of adventure at what is to come our way.  Last year is over; nothing can be undone that happened, but our future is as bright as the promises of God.  We can not turn back the clock, but we can wind it up again.

We are not like this old truck because our lives and our future to a large extent are in our own hands.  We can make this year what we will.  If we wish too, we can begin something new and exciting or we can continue to travel in the same old ruts.  The steering wheel is in our hands and we do not have to merely settle for second best when we can chose to make this year the best year ever.  The choice is up to you.  Enjoy today.

Something to think about:

• God is a Specialist at making something useful and beautiful out of something broken and confused.

• In this life we will encounter hurts and trials that we will not be able to change; we are just going to have to allow them to change us.

• Enjoy the blessings of this day, if God sends them; and the evils of it bear patiently and sweetly: for this day only is ours, we are dead to yesterday, and we are not yet born to the morrow.

• I cannot change yesterday. I can only make the most of today and look with hope toward tomorrow.

• Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have—so spend it wisely.

• Giving your best today is the best recipe for a better tomorrow.

• The foolish man seeks happiness in tomorrow and yesterday, but the wise man finds it today.

Wishing you a great year
Rickey Moore