"Forgetting What Is Behind And Straining Toward What Is Ahead."

This is the last evening of the year!
(J.R. Miller, December 31, 1907)

This is the last evening of the year!

I am trying to sum up my year's life.
The days have come to me like
clean, white pages--
and I have tried to put upon
each something beautiful
to keep for me when
the eternal books shall be opened.

It has been a year of opportunities.
I am conscious of not having
embraced them all.

I have neglected duties of love,
not always doing the things I
should have done. I have not
grown in heart-culture and spiritual
life as I ought to have done.

These neglects and all
my sins, I humbly confess.

Yet I thank GOD for the past year.
I cannot now change anything in it.

But I want to learn lessons
of experience from my failures
and mistakes, and carry them
forward into the new year.

I would forget the good things
I have done, and try to do better things
next year. No year's life, however
beautiful, is beautiful enough
to simply repeat--
it must be improved upon.

So I leave my year, with all
its blots and blessings, with GOD,
who will forget nothing worthy, and
will look graciously upon my mistakes. 

"One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind 
and straining toward what is ahead, I 
press on toward the goal to win the prize 
for which GOD has called me heavenward 
in CHRIST JESUS!" Philippians 3:13-14

   
~  ~  ~  ~

GraceGems has published James Smith's superb short article, 
"Comfort for a New Year!"