At the beginning of each year, people might ask you, “What are your plans for this year?” or “What’s your New Year’s resolution?” 

You may or may not tell them your plans. Perhaps you’re not sure when, where and how your plans will come together, or even what those plans will be.  It’s important to set goals for your future, and you can reach them best by planning diligently and working vigorously. 

 What do you do if your plans don’t turn out the way you had hoped? For instance, what if your prayers for healing go unanswered, or a dream you have still seems out of reach, or you are waiting for a new job, or for marriage, or you are hurt by a broken relationship that hasn’t been mended. What do you do? Do you allow yesterday’s stumbles and falls in life to cause you to keep your head down, immersed in your disappointment, or do you get up and dust yourself off and start over? 

What if you were to ask a child one of these questions in simple terms? What do you think would be his/her answer?  

 I honestly think children are living messages. They can heal a soul, just by being themselves.  They can speak simply but profoundly, with a clarity that can make you smile and think twice.

 One day I was watching the Ellen show. She was interviewing a three-year-old child, an extremely talented gymnast named Emma. Ellen asked her, “Do you ever get scared of falling?”  Ellen then asked, “Do you ever get disappointed and give up?”  Emma answered in a sweet and precious voice and without any hesitation. “NO! I don’t, because I get right back up and try again.” Wow! Perfect answer. It was unbelievable to me that she could be so young and know so much.

 You may have noticed that whenever children are doing something they truly enjoy, they say, “Do it again”. It might be a game, a place to go, etc. They don’t mind repeating something a hundred times. It’s the same with God. He is pure and holy. When He sees us fall, He says, “Get up and do it again”. The great thing about walking with God every day in this life is that the door of opportunity is always open for a fresh start. Over and over, He gives us a new day, a new dawn, a new life, and He daily renews us.  

 If we look, we can see the work of His loving hands all around us and we can be a witness as His miracles unfold. Let’s take a moment to thank God for all He has done for us and to ask for forgiveness in the areas where we have missed the mark.

 “For Your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.” [Psalm 25:11]

 Let’s embrace the new decade with open minds and trusting hearts. Let’s make sure the things we are chasing after in the years to come align with God’s plan for our lives. Let’s encourage each other in all areas of our lives. We may have fallen in the past, but we can get up as Emma did, and move forward.