Happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2014? It seems like only yesterday that we crossed that invisible divide, taking us from the 20th to the 21st century. I was working in corporate information technology back then, and we were all on the edge of our seats wondering if “Y2K” was going to crash every computer on earth and cause all manner of chaos, confusion, and bedlam. Needless to say, 12:00am January 1, 2000 came and went with nary a hiccup. Life goes on. But oh, how fast it goes!

I have been particularly haunted this year, by how quickly the years are passing. Perhaps it’s because I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with my family just before Christmas, celebrating my sister’s 70th birthday. It was great fun, but a vivid reminder none-the-less, of how fast time is slipping by. The seven of us Schmidt “kids” span 2 decades in age, but today, instead of ranging from infant to college kid, we are “mature” adults in our 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Where did the years go? They seem to have flown by in the blink of an eye. I suppose it should not be a surprise. After all, Psalm 39:5 says, “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.”

For me, this annual reminder called New Years is a regularly scheduled wake-up call. I can almost hear the Lord saying, “Mary, what are you doing? Life is short! I have a plan and a purpose for you, so don’t waste another day.” The fact is we have no guarantee of tomorrow. Today is all we have, so we’d better make it count. But how? (See our June 2013 blog post “The Gift of Time” here for more on this topic.)

My uneasiness over the swiftly passing years has been a much needed reminder that we truly do need to live each day “on purpose.” The brevity of this life does not allow us the luxury of wasting even one of our days. There are far too many important things to be done: too many hurting people who need to find joy, too many children who need a hug or a story read to them, too many sick or aged with no one to visit them or let them know they are loved. There is far too much unfinished work to be accomplished to take even one of the precious days God gives us for granted; work that will long outlast our short lifespans. No, there’s no time to waste. Not when years rush by as rapidly as a flooding river.

All these thoughts about time made me think of an old Simon & Garfunkel song that was popular when I was a teen called “Hazy Shade of Winter.” Here are the lyrics I can’t get out of my mind:

Time, time, time, see what’s become of me.
While I looked around for my possibilities,
I was so hard to please.
But look around, leaves are brown,
and the sky is a hazy shade of winter.

Those of you who have reached my age and beyond, know that the sky over our lives is a “hazy shade of winter.” And yet, God still wants to do so much in and through each one of us, no matter what season we are in! Are we letting the years just rush passed while we “look around for our possibilities,” or are we embracing each new day as the gift it is? When will you and I decide it’s time to live our days intentionally? When will we choose to find joy and passion, to follow God’s call, to take a chance and LIVE every day like there’s no tomorrow? No matter what season you are in, give yourself and those God chooses to put in your life the gift of living on purpose this year. God will do amazing things when we learn to say yes, one day at a time.

How will you live on purpose in 2014? We’d love to hear your thoughts and plans for the new year. Share them with us and others here on the “Joy Blog” by scrolling to the top and clicking where it says “Click here to comment.”

And contact me at Mary@JoyonPurpose.com for a FREE One-hour Introductory Life Coaching Session. Life coaching may be just what you need to learn how you can live each day with passion and joy ~ on purpose!
Happy New Year!