As 2015 is drawing to a close, I’ve started thinking back and evaluating the past year. In some ways, I am ready for a new year just to have a clean slate. It’s funny how much has changed since this time last year. I’ve grown a lot. Progress was made, and in some areas I took a few steps back; it was a long journey to get here.

It’s interesting, trying to define such simple words such as here. In our vast and active lives, it is often difficult to gather enough context to determine our current state. Maybe this is because it can be so many different things. Sometimes, here is a destination. It’s a goal. You’ve been working towards it for so long. You finally arrive. Or, you don’t.

Maybe you have no clue where you are. You feel way off base. This year was just a series of twisting the map all around and never finding your bearings. Failures quickly come to mind. You’ve lost all direction. You’re full of guilt or regret. You don’t know where you’re supposed to be -- but you’re positive it’s not here. But you’re not the only one who feels this way.

I’m here to tell you that feeling lost should not be equated with failure. Your time journeying has not been a waste. While you may have felt directionless, you were still headed somewhere. You’ve still been moving, so you learned something. What was it? Give yourself a hard look and no, you may not be pleased. Wrong turns or poor choices knocked you off course. But look harder and you’ll feel hopeful.

A good thing is coming; a new year is a new start. You’re free to make better choices and be able to get yourself back on track. Take those past regrets and apply them. Maybe you need to get out of here, desperately. You’re not safe where you are. You’re not yourself lately. Be led by those who will give you good directions. Perhaps you’re just so unsure of where to go next, you’re too timid to leave here. Do it. Go. Be confident in your steps, if you feel called to take them.

I would say that I hope your journey is easy, but I’m not sure that’s true. If times were always good, would we ever appreciate them? Would we learn? How could we grow? If that were the case, I don’t think we would ever get anywhere. Better to take a few steps back than to never move at all. We shouldn’t live in fear of this journey. We will misstep. Those wrong turns won’t keep us from the right past for forever. We can’t use the past to dictate our future but enhance it. The future is changing with its however many more New Years and boy, is it great. But that’s the best thing about those new beginnings. We don’t have to wait until January. They come every single day.

Here we come.