Could This Be The Year?
May 13, 2019 by Cynthia Ruchti
Filed under Daily Devotions, Personal Growth
By Cynthia Ruchti –
Fresh calendars are like an unquilted stretch of new snow begging for footprints. They tease with their crisp, unmarked pages, claiming that life won’t be messy and scribbled on before the year is over.
I’m old enough to know better, to realize that somewhere within those relatively blank pages are marks already—notes about an upcoming doctor appointment made months ago, reminders about tax form due dates, speaking engagements, deadlines…
The thirty-one open boxes under the stunning photograph of a lighthouse will start to fill before I take a step back to admire it. Church meetings. A family get-together. Worship practice (what an odd phrase! Practice for worship is…worship!). Birthdays I won’t remember soon enough to send a card. Garbage night. Phone numbers. Things that don’t fit on the to-do list.
When I take down this calendar to put up a new one next January, what story will these pages tell?
Will this be the year that I conquer my battle with—? It’s a multiple choice question.
Is this the year I stick to the discipline of—? Again, multiple choice.
Will this year be marked by lightning-fast obedience, divinely-appointed risk-taking, books read and written, regret-free living in relationships?
How many squares on the calendar will be filled with surprises, unexpected challenges, things I’d rather forget than remember?
Is this the year I won’t flinch when they come?
Although I regularly commit my day to the Lord, I don’t remember laying a whole calendar before Him. But it seems like a good idea, doesn’t it?
How can I move from block to block, three hundred and sixty five times, without His help? How can I hope to navigate that maze, dodging distractions and things circled four times and accented with exclamation marks if I’m not letting Him lead the way?
PRAYER: Father God, Lord of my life, early in the morning (and the year) will I rise up and seek You. I need You every hour, every block, every page.
“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee… Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me,” (Psalm 63:1a, 7-8 KJV).
Today’s devotional is by Cynthia Ruchti, writer/producer of THE HEARTBEAT OF THE HOME radio ministry and past president of American Christian Fiction Writers. Cynthia’s debut novel—They Almost Always Come Home—and novella—“The Heart’s Harbor” in A Door County Christmas—released in 2010. Cynthia writes stories of hope that glows in the dark. www.cynthiaruchti.com.
Cynthia Ruchti tells stories of Hope-that-glows-in-the-dark through her novels and novellas, devotion collections, speaking, teaching, and a history of 33 years as a radio writer/producer. Her books have been recognized by RT Reviewers’ Choice, Retailers’ Choice, Family Fiction Readers’Choice, and other honors. Her novel When the Morning Glory Blooms (Abingdon Press Fiction) releases April 1, 2013. A nonfiction project—Ragged Hope: Surviving the Fallout of Other People’s Choices—releases July 2013 from Abingdon Press Christian Living. www.cynthiaruchti.com
Cindy, Thank you. You help me go into this block on my calendar with a more focused view and a prayer on my lips.
That’s a fabulous way to approach the calendar (“laying it before him”). Thank you!