New beginnings coming up!
Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

By Julie Carter

January is now two weeks old. It is traditionally a time when many of us re-evaluate our lives, make resolutions and look with great hope to the months ahead.

We may not keep those promises to ourselves, and, as my experience has proven, usually don’t. I try to lessen the failure possibility by not making any resolutions in an effort to bypass the disappointment.

However, I will admit to at least taking the time to think about what I should do for my health, wealth, happiness and the greater good of mankind. For me, itt is an exhausting process.

January is also a time when nature starts to spring forth with new life.

With cold weather, snow and gloomy skies surrounding many of us, we eagerly anticipate the first buds of flowering trees and shrubs, the peeping forth of those early spring bulbs and the arrival of migrating birds that herald warmer temperatures.

Pretty words that mean, “I am tired of the cold already.” Firewood splinters, ash dust everywhere on everything and a number of articles of clothing that smell like cedar smoke are all marks of the season.

I realize winter is what it is and I get through what it is by looking forward to what it isn’t. To that aforementioned pretty-word description of spring, add a few baby calves bucking through the pasture and life is about as good as any spring can offer. Then the horses shed off, get shiny and hope is renewed.

Across the country, there is much discussion and notice given to the fact this year is 2008. In the Bible, the number eight means “new beginnings,”giving the year a numerical stamp of prophecy.

So not only is it a new year like we get every year, it is a special new year with God’s hand on it offering great promise. There is never a shortage of people who need a renewed hope for what tomorrow will bring.

This past year was a really wonderful year for me, but the promise of even a better year is exciting.

I’m right at the front of that line.

New beginnings may be a million different things to a million different people.

From elections to promotions, destitution to diamonds, failure to success and sad to happy, the hope in a better tomorrow, a better next month and a better ending than the beginning, lightens the load of each day.

In arriving at a place of anticipation for new beginnings, first we had to come through some valleys. The proverbial wilderness wandering is a part of life for those with human tendencies.

I believe we can decide to be tired of wandering, stand up and be counted when new beginnings are passed around.

Therefore, I’ll break my own rule and make a resolution. My promise to myself for this year of new beginnings is to be happy, laugh even more and try to infect every person I meet with the same. Let that be a warning.

Remember your past wildernesses, but don’t let them predict your future.

The Westerner is sure Julie will have a great 2008 and wants to thank her for sharing her wonderful weekly column with us. You can visit her website here, see some beautiful photos, read her weblog, and even order her book, Cowgirl Sass & Savvy.