“I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
‘Give me a light that I may tred safely into the unknown.’
And he replied, ‘Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'”

These are the first four lines of a poem written by Minnie Louise Haskins in 1908. They suggest a beautiful attitude of faith.  While my hand is firmly nestled in the hand of God I do not think He minds if I have a little lantern in my other hand. My lantern is a theme I create for the new year.

The practice of establishing a theme for the year came about because of a yearly journal I keep in which I briefly record highlights each month. Reading through the journal recently I noticed that for the past two years I had included an inscription at the beginning of the year. It was a theme, penned in whimsy, looking something like this:

2010 – a year of prosperity and passion

I believe in the power of Intentions but I was surprised to see how much these themes had proven to be prophetic in my life. What a great way to start the new year.

What do you want in 2011? What’s your theme?

photo credit: Bill Masson