We mark the passage of time in interesting ways. We count birthdays and other anniversaries as milestones, often speaking of what went before and what came after a particular date. The extension of this is the way we mark significant historical dates. July 4, 1776, would be one example. What went on before that date is forever different from what has come after. It can be argued that dates such as that one really do mark a significant distinction between events before a particular date and those after.

An example of this kind of anticipation took place in 1999. The world was on the brink of a new year, a new decade, a new century as well as a new millennium. That was a time when hopes, as well as fears, were associated with this historic transition in time. As I recall, one of the most widespread fears had to do with Y2K and what might mean to computers around the world.

A number of things have changed in the past 19 years. As we pass into the third decade of the 2000s, I sense a little more than usual hope, optimism, or at least anticipation for what the coming year and decade might bring. Since we live in a time filled with uncertainty in many areas of life, there seems a reason for anticipation tinged with both apprehension and optimism. The year and the decade ahead will most certainly be filled with challenges and opportunities. This brings us back to the question of we are as of this particular milestone in time approaches, and what do you think the time ahead will mean to you?

As we move forward, where is your life in comparison to where you thought it would be a year ago, five years ago? If you are courageous enough, look back ten years or twenty, to the time we approached 2000. Where are you today compared with where you thought you would be at any or all of these milestones?

How do you feel about that? I stand amazed at where my life has gone compared to where I saw it at several of these points. I am coming every day to see how the challenges I faced earlier in life have helped prepare me for some of today’s challenges. I am reminded every day that doing the work and staying the course brings long term results we could never have anticipated.

As we move forward, we know that a new year and a new decade will provide new challenges and opportunities. While we do not know what the year ahead will bring, we know the lessons we have learned in previous years will equip us for what we will face.

As we move forward, let’s resolve to keep on doing what we need to as we stay the course.

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