Calendars have been helping people keep time and plan since time immemorial. The most common calendar used worldwide is the Gregorian calendar, created in the 16th century. Gradually since then, throughout the world, 1 January was determined as the first day of each year… and so, each December as we prepare for the celebrations of the birth of our Savior, we also count down the days to the imminent New Year. In this process, we also tend to evaluate the year that has passed and try to prepare for the year to come.


For me, this year has been an interesting and a challenging one. I started working at the YMCA in the Czech Republic – a very exciting and responsible new role! It has been a whirlwind of events, meetings, trainings, trips, and projects. There were, as always, successes and failures. This year has also been about strengthening relationships. In all, I must say that this busy year has laid many foundations for exciting years to come.

And now for the year 2015… There is so much to do, so much to plan! However, if there is something that I have learned in the past two years, it is that any plans you make can radically change, by no fault of your own, at any given moment. We often forget that we are not the complete masters of our lives, especially with the media “massage” we get every day telling us to “take charge” of our lives and to determine our own destinies. I feel that this is one of the main sources of unnecessary stress and worry, since it is virtually impossible to “take charge” of your life for a longer period of time.

So, what’s the solution? Not make any New Year’s resolutions? Not make any plans? Not try to do your best in life? Laissez-faire? No, this extreme attitude is surely not the answer. Make plans, try to do your best, and develop your talents (remember my thoughts in the last volume of Protein?). Take care of the gifts that God has given you. However, be humble while you do it, and place all of your hopes and plans into the hands of our Lord, who is the true determiner of our fates and knows what is best for us. Try to develop your body, mind, and spirit the best you can (with the help of the YMCA, of course!), and pray that He shall help you in your efforts.

Start the New Year with hopes, make some resolutions, and try to do your best, but remember and take comfort in the fact that: Many are the plans in a man‘s heart, but it is the LORD‘s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21).

If things don’t go as planned, stay calm, don’t panic, and pray – the Lord will take care of you (and later, you will discover with appreciation why things happened the way they happened). And remember the important, eternal things in life (God, Love, family…), and try not to fret over the unimportant things (money, careers, prestige…).

I wish you a hopeful, humble, healthy, and happy New Year!

Vocabulary

since time immemorial – od nepamětí

imminent – nastávající, blízký

lay (many) foundations – položit základy

by no fault of your own – ne vlastní vinou

at any given moment – v jakémkoliv okamžiku, kdykoliv

take charge of somebody/something – ujmout se koho/čeho, převzít péči nad kým, vzít si na starost koho/co…

virtually impossible – prakticky nemožné

resolution – předsevzetí

be humble – buďte pokorní

as planned – jak bylo plánováno

to fret - rozčilovat

Tamara Anne Smelíková, foto: J. V. Hynek
(pro zvídavé... Novi Sad, Srbsko)