The thing that I like about a new year is that it carries with it the expectation and hope of better things. No matter how the previous year went, we get to take down the old calendar and put up a new one, one that’s wide open with fresh pictures. There’s just something mentally liberating about starting over with a blank slate, like when you get stuck on a math problem, and you crumple up your old scratch paper and throw it in the wastepaper basket – the new, blank paper allows you to forget all the false starts and rabbit trails, freeing your mind to view the problem with fresh eyes.
Likewise, let us close the chapter on 2013, with all of its mistakes and dead ends. Let us look to the future with fresh eyes, dreaming big dreams. Let us pray and plan for a better 2014!