I love listening to the rhythmic beating of drums.

Now, let me clarify that. This isn’t about some first-time percussionist who is simply trying to create and sustain loud booming noises by beating sticks on a snare or pounding out an inconsistent cadence on a bass drum.

I’m talking about the disciplined professional drummer, whose skill and experience are able to create a warm and passionate rhythm with their instrument. There is something about that rhythm.

All of Creation, too, has a rhythm to it. It shows itself most obviously in the changing of the seasons, in the flipping of the calendar, and in the dropping of the New Year’s Ball in New York’s Time Square. The writer of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes captured it perfectly when he wrote:

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

Not only is this week the beginning of a new year, but it is the beginning of a new decade. This week is a hinge point in history; a doorway from the past into the future. It presents us with a unique chance to look back not only on the last 365 days, but on the last 10 years and evaluate where we’ve come from and what we’ve done. Some of our hindsight will result in tears, disappointment, and perhaps even shame. However, some will result in deep joy and a smile on our faces that almost bursts our cheeks!

This week also gives us the chance to look ahead. To gaze toward the future and where our life might take us in the days to come. It is a time of hope and possibility. It’s a time of the year that a few of us still make goals and set “New Year Resolutions.” Yet, in the rhythm of time, because this is a decade marker, this year’s resolves should go further. Perhaps a decade further.

So, here’s is my New Year’s / New Decade question to you: “What do you want the summary of your next decade to be?”

What do you want to see begin in your life?
What do you want to see end?
What do you want to lose?
What do you want to find?
What do you want to have healed or mended?
What do you want to love?
What do you want to hate?
What hope do you want to embrace?

These are big questions, so take some time in the days ahead to consider each carefully and how they might relate to friends, family, habits, work, schooling, etc. I’ll be considering each of these questions from a spiritual perspective too.

You see, the writer of Ecclesiastes adds a powerful thought just a few chapters after the poem I’ve already quoted. He says, “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, stand in awe of God.” Spending time looking ahead is of some worth. It will set us on a course in the future that can bring about much good. But ultimately, I don’t know what the future will bring.

However, there is someone who does: the One who sets the cadence of history itself. So as I walk into what I hope my future will bring, I choose to walk with the One who can truly take me there. He is my drummer and I choose to walk in His rhythm. Will you join me?

Happy New Decade!