First thoughts of 2009

So I made it all the way past the ball drop and up to about 2:30am before I finally hit the sack, but here I sit- bright and early- at 9am on January 1, 2009. Here are a few of my first thoughts going into 2009.

Reflect on 2008: If 2008 taught me anything, its that I have absolutely no idea what’s coming. I recently read an interesting blog post about someone’s predictions about 2008 from 5 years ago. In reality, the list was simply some of the things that had occurred over the last 5 years, but when read as if they were predictions from the past about the present, many of them seemed kind of crazy. For example, who could ever have predicted that a first-term senator with little previous experience would defeat not only John McCain but also the Clintons in the race to the White House- oh yeah, and he happens to be African American. In the world of technology, the number of blogs, Facebook profiles, and Twitter accounts have seemingly gone from zero to a billion in 5 years. I never would have guessed that 75% of my web used would be based around 2 or 3 sites. This type of reflection, even on 2008 alone, has taught me that the most important way to be prepared for the future is to be flexible. It is also encouraging me to dream big. Things that do not exist today may dominate peoples’ consciousness within 5 years, and who is to say that I cannot be a part of that.

Reflect on New Years: The New Years shows were decent. It looked cold, but then again, its almost always cold. I had some friends in high school that went to Time’s Square and had a blast, but they said it was a good thing that none of them were claustrophobic. As far as the musical talent goes, I will make two observations: Natasha Bedingfield can sing and Katy Perry can’t. Katy Perry actually put out a “Christian album” on a Christian music label a few years ago, but since then has kissed a girl, liked it, and become a pop star. Too bad that since then she hasn’t learned how to sing live. Oh, and how about a third observation: the two or three motorcycle jumps that were on the various networks were all extremely anti-climactic. Perhaps the camera angles made them seem less impressive or perhaps even the daredevils like to dip into the champagne before midnight and needed less complicated jumps to compensate. All in all, there was good music, poignant reflection on the year, and there is nothing like counting down during the big ball drop.

Look Ahead to 2009: 2009 should be a big year for me. I am planning on finishing seminary in December, I will hopefully be participating in a challenging hospital chaplaincy program this summer, and surely other big events will happen this year as well. It should also be a big year for Gator Wesley. If nothing else, we are scheduled to complete construction on the new building and move in for the fall. This is all so exciting. Beyond that, it should also be a good year for the Gators, who will likely win the national championship next Thursday, see Tim Tebow return, and get into the national championship game again next year.

Over all though, with all that is going on and all that will most certainly hang over from 2008, we should enter this year in prayer and gratitude. I have friends who are sick, friends who are unemployed, and friends that can barely afford to stay in school. I live in a state who makes something like 75% of its income from sales tax, which is way down due to the economy. This, of course, means even less funding for teachers, police, firemen, and the list goes on. We have a new president that inspires hope but who is really still untested. We have a world that is working desperately to right the financial ship, much less work to end the instances of war, violence, and oppression that still plague our world. In all of these things, we need our Emmanuel- God with us. Romans 5:6 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” If God can step in at just the right time to save us from the greatest crisis of them all- the problem of sin and death- then I am willing to trust God in the small stuff too. God knows when it is the right time to act and what is the right thing to do- we have to be willing to be patient and trust, and we have to have discernment to see where God is already working. For me, 2008 seemed like a year that the church began to truly open its eyes to the call to love and serve the world around it. As an act of gratitude for all that we have, may we continue to be the hands and feet of Christ to our world who so desperately needs it.

Peace,
Dan

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Thanks, guys!
• The first is always the hardest
• The Gospel in a Guiltless time