Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Welcome to the New Year!

by Pastor William Jenkins

January 7, 2005

What resolutions did you make? Which ones are you most likely to keep? Making resolutions is the easy part; keeping them is something else.

A New Year is like a blank page on which we can make a new start, turn over a new leaf, get a fresh start. I was visiting with a lady recently who thought it important that I hear part of her story.

She shared how her life had changed and things were not the same with her as they once were. She said she used to have everything she wanted and enjoyed it, now she takes what she can get…and enjoys it.

About 2 years ago she said she turned over a new leaf in her life and was moving on. “Life changes”, she said. “You have to adjust and get over it and get on with it.”

That view of life is inspiring in any person, especially in one that is 93 years old! This lady will, no doubt, die young…sometime after her 100th birthday.

Albert Einstein is credited with saying, “Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we are born.”

As long as New Years keep coming around, there is hope for all of us to better ourselves by turning over a new leaf. William A. Ward wrote the following:

Another fresh year is here…another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt and fear, to love and laugh and give!
This bright New Year is given me to live each day with zest…
To daily grow and try to be my highest and my best!
I have the opportunity once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree, and sing more joyful songs!

So, how about those resolutions that contain the seeds of a better you? If you’ve had trouble thinking of one, here are a few suggestions: Resolve in the New Year…

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To look on the sunny side of everything.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on
to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful face and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To laugh more in 2005.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to allow trouble to distress you.

These are just a few things to ponder as we enter the New Year.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org