MW - End of Another Year

The End of 2003

Less than 10 days remain in the year 2003, then it will pass into the history books, unalterably etched in stone forever. Every year about this time of year, I take the opportunity to reflect some on the fact that time marches on. The past is unalterable, the future is full of possibility, and we live only in the present.

Billy Graham wrote the following in the June 1998 issue of Decision Magazine:

We possess something of tremendous value, a nonrenewable resource that is moving inevitable toward total depletion. That resource is time. For some of us, life will be long. For others, life will be surprisingly short. If you reach my age, you will wonder where the time has gone.

Some time ago at a university where I was speaking, a student asked me, "What is the greatest surprise of your life?"

I answered, "The greatest surprise in my life is the brevity of life." I never dreamed that life would be so short.

No matter what, time marches on. Once 2003 ends, there will be nothing I can do to change it. It is like a notebook that has been filled up with writing, explaining the events of the year, how I spent my time, what I thought and did:

And once the page is written, nothing can be done to change it. 2003 will be written in indelible ink.

On the other hand, this is what 2004 looks like:

It is an empty page. Nothing has yet been written there (as of this writing). That means that the year is full of possibility and promise. I may have complaints, disappointments, or regrets about 2003, but not for 2004. The new year is a clean, fresh blank page, ready to be filled however I choose.

Happy New Year!

PS -- Today I had a friend complain:

Hey Matthew,

Thanks for the links. I was unable to read your article, however.
The writing is too small. I tried magnifying text, but it didn't
work for the image. Any suggestions?

God bless,
Mike

The image is just an illustration, an allegory for my life being filled up with events, places, and people. The text is intentionally illegible. But... if you must know, here is a link to the actual text of that image: ~~Click Here~~ (Note: 4-Aug-2006: link broken. It was just some fake Latin, I think).

End of Another Year
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