Not a Good Start to the Year

Many people are discouraged by New Year's resolutions, because they
think they will eventually break them. Me, I like the start of the
year, and the chance to begin anew and get off to a good start in
terms of good habits. But this year has not started out good in this
area.

The two things I was most excited about were getting back to running
(after an extended "fast" from it at the end of last month) and
getting to bed early. So I got up early this morning and hit the
pavement for my first run in awhile. It felt good to be at a running
pace again. But a mile or so in, my knee started to hurt again.
(This was why I had taken a break from running in the first place.) I
tried to shake it off but it was not meant to be. I stopped, turned
around, and began the walk home. After having so much time off it, I
was resigned to the fact that time off alone will not heal this thing,
and I will have to see a doctor about this. I was also discouraged
that I would probably not get to run for awhile, and this after
itching for so long to do it too.

The day ended poorly as well. Our bedtime strategy for Jada is to get
her good and tired and then begin our bedtime routine. Just like
clockwork, she began to fuss around 8:15, 8:30. So I took her to her
bedroom and expected her to be asleep by 8:45 and me asleep by 9:00.

Almost three hours later, she finally went down. I had to pull out
every trick in the book to help her fall asleep. Twice, she actually
fell asleep, only to spring wide awake just seconds later. As the
night wore on and the amount of sleep I was going to be able to get
dwindled, I found myself getting increasingly frustrated and
impatient. Not being able to run had already gotten me cranky, and
now not being able to get to bed at a decent hour had me bordering on
furious.

We may make plans but sometimes they don't go our way. When we get
too far ahead of ourselves, sometimes God has a way of getting us back
in line -- even when it comes to good things, like running and going
to bed early. I did not like how this first day of 2006 went, because
it didn't go the way I wanted it. I have to learn that the days
always go how God wants them to, and that in His sovereignty and love
they always go the way we need them to go, for our growth and
development and ultimately for His glory. This is a lesson I need to
learn, and it will be one I am sure I will fight many days this year.

Things did not go as planned on this first day of 2006. Maybe the
next day will be better – better in that my good plans will work out,
and/or better in that if they don't, I will have a better attitude
about it.