Happy New Year!

Holiday visits and family celebrations are winding down. Some traditions may have been a carbon copy of last year’s; others may have had to adapt.

Some changes were likely welcomed; others not.

The birth of a baby quickly reconfigures family celebrations. With chaos spilling into every minute of once steadfast rituals, “Baby’s First Christmas” opens a new era with its firsts shining expectantly into the future.

But the death of a loved one casts a shadow over the firsts, causing them to pale. Families move numbly through traditions that can no longer be the same.

Even in these years, however, we can still find joy. Memories give our minds a context for the firsts ahead, anchoring our new experiences in the richness of our past. In fact:

We can look back and measure the fullness of our lives by what we have experienced. – Becky Galli, Morning Fuel: December 28

So how can we measure this year? My father once offered these criteria.

It has been a good year if:

• You knew the warmth of just one person loving you—and loving them back.

• You felt the snuggling touch of one child.

• You sat and listened patiently while a friend poured out their troubles.  

• You laughed when you felt like crying because laughter lightened your load.

• You reached out to others when you were afraid or lonely, and they reached back and held you tight.

• You renewed an old friendship or made a new friend.

• You let go of some part of your past that kept you from moving forward in your present.

• You released a grudge that marred your thinking.

• You made amends to one person you have wronged.

• You allowed people to pray for you when you were too weak to pray for yourself.

• You saw a loved one facing eternity with faith and grace.  

If your year included any of these experiences, he concluded, it has been a good year.

Taking stock can help us cherish what we have had while helping us embrace more fully what is ahead—both the firsts and the lasts.

How about you? How does your year measure up?

And on we go. . .

Wishing you all the best in the coming year!

P.S. Yolanda Canny asks me to read several entries from Morning Fuel in our podcast conversation. You can click here to listen now.