As much as I’ve gotten accustomed to the calendar on my phone, I still buy a basic monthly calendar to use for work every year. The phone is great for keeping up with meetings and helping me get the kids where they need to be, but I like seeing a whole month at a time to stay on track with work deadlines and such.
I don’t usually get anything fancy, but do like to have a fun color. No chance at this for 2012, though – I didn’t even think about getting a new calendar until right before New Year’s. The only one I found that was the size I like and just a monthly – not a weekly – setup was a color I can best describe as taupe. Not that there’s anything wrong with taupe, but it just looks kind of blah next to the teal or burgundy or emerald I’ve had the last few years.
But, it’s a calendar and will do the job. Am I the only one who loves to open up a new calendar and enjoy the thought of having a month of open, blank days that are full of possibility? (Yeah, I probably am.) But my planning side usually overrides my open, spontaneous side pretty quickly and starts filling in all those days with reminders for meetings, deadlines, school activities, and more. Doesn’t take long, does it?
Some days my mind whirls from all the things on my calendar before I even get out of bed. Sometimes I feel like I’m so stuck in a rut because so many of the same things are on the schedule week in, week out (music lessons or dance classes, anyone?). Here’s the thing I have to remind myself: No matter how full my calendar might be, no matter how routine my weeks might seem, every day is a fresh new start. God blesses us with a new chance every day to follow Him, listen to Him, grow closer to Him. It’s a new chance to show mercy, ask forgiveness, or treat someone better.
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-24, ESV).
What good news even for a calendar-crowded girl like me! Here’s to a year full of new beginnings every day in 2012.
