If You Can't Resolve 'Em, Perfect Last Year's Mistakes

  by James Snyder

It is hard to believe a new year is upon us again. Every year I go kicking and screaming into the new year. Not because I’m against change. My pants pocket is full of change.

I simply cannot remember to change the year on the checks I write until May. Having a checking account is a big responsibility. I not only have to know how much money in my checking account but also remember what year to put on the check I’m writing today.

By the time I remember the correct year I have forgotten to make deposits into my checking account. I need a reality check, which hopefully will not bounce as high as my checkbook.

That is not the only reason I hesitate going into a new year. The biggest reason has to do with the mistakes I made during the old year.

Looking back over the old year, I worry that my blunders were not as bad as they could have been. Did I make all the mistakes I possibly could? Did I fill my quota? What is my quota, anyway?

For many people, the new year offers the opportunity to start over again. Actually, what happens is people simply make new mistakes curiously similar to the mistakes made during the old year.

If I have any resolution for the new year it would be to perfect the mistakes I’ve already made. I don’t see any sense in making new mistakes when I can easily requisition the old ones for duty during the New Year.

And what’s wrong with my old mistakes? The only thing I can think of is that I did not work hard enough to make the most of them. It’s one thing to make a mistake, but it’s quite another thing to perfect the art of making a mistake so that you don’t have to repeat it ever again. Too many amateurs have given mistake-making a bad name.

Most of my mistakes have been so poorly discharged that in the coming new year I have to re-do many of them. And, quite frankly, I’m tired of it all. I’m anxious to move on to new areas of mistake making.

I’m convinced there are mistakes to make that I have not even dreamed of at this point in my life. And believe me, I’ve been dreaming.

Actually, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage thinks they are all nightmares. However, my horsing around is not limited to the nighttime.

With that in mind, my resolution for the new year is to make sure any and all mistakes I make (and there will be plenty, I assure you) will be as thorough as possible. I refuse to leave any mistake before its time.

And, as you well know, some mistakes take lots of time to fully mature. But when its time comes, I want to make sure it is accomplished as smoothly and as perfectly as possible.

If I’m any judge of character, the majority of people will not make any new mistakes this coming new year. Oh, they think they are making new mistakes but in reality, they are dusting off old ones and re-dating them for the current year. What a waste of time, in my opinion.

For those of you who take your mistake-making seriously, allow me to offer some help that will guide this pursuit in the coming new year.

- Look back over the old year and make a list of all of the mistakes you have made. If you are a husband, solicit help from your wife, who will be able to remember all of those mistakes you have forgotten. (Not to mention one or two you didn’t make.)

- Go over each mistake on your list and determine if it needs repeated for the new year. As I say, there is no sense in making new mistakes if you’re not finished with the old ones. Nothing is more disheartening than a half-baked mistake.

- For every mistake from the previous year not needing repeated, place a nice red star in front of it. That mistake can now go into your Hall of Blame, which will never have to repeat again.

Of course, you will have some mistakes that even though they have been well executed are well worth repeating. And you know which ones they are. Don’t you?

- Now look at all of those mistakes listed for repeating during the new year. Prioritize them so you can begin the new year with a good plan.

As you prioritize this list, think of ways in which you can improve on your mistakes over the past year. No satisfaction compares with doing something as good as you can.

Everyone generates mistakes, which is healthy. What is unhealthy is thinking you have not made any mistakes n which is a mistake. Some people have the strange idea that they live a completely mistake free life.

The Bible, an authority on mistakes, says this; “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10 KJV.)

A mistake well executed is a mistake never needing repeating. During the new year execute as many mistakes as your conscience will allow.

The great hope we have is that there is no mistake bigger than God’s ability to forgive