Last Monday, on the first day of back to work, it was a chilly day and my mind was still on the vacation mode after weeks of absence from the working place.

While I was on the steps entering a building at my working place, I heard someone behinds me shouted “Excuse me, excuse me!” I turned my head and saw a person, with his hands full, walking quickly towards me. He showed me his badge and said, “I don’t know what has happened to my badge, it is not working this morning, can you let me in?” I hesitated a little bit due to the rule of no tailgating from the company. Then I remembered I saw him a few times in the hallway during last year. So, I let him in and asked him to check into lobby first to validate his badge. After thanked me and he sighed, “It is not good to start a New Year like this!” “Yep!” I responded.

Later of the week, I bumped into another colleague at my working place. We greeted each other with the common greeting, “Happy New Year”. Then my colleague said, “New Year is correct, but ‘HAPPY or not’ is another matter.” I smiled knowingly. At this New Year time, we all wish to have a “good and happy” start because it could energize us during any challenging or difficult times lie ahead of us. The problem is a good and happy start seems hard to find and frustrations seems to follow constantly, however.

The key is we have to realize that we may not be able to change environment that we are in but we can adjust our mindset and attitude. As James indicated to us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. 我的弟兄們，你們落在百般試煉中，都要以為大喜樂 (James 1:2)”. James wants us to have an attitude of joy during trials because we can come to the source of goodness – our Heavenly Father – to ask for wisdom, mercies and grace. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, let us resolve to have the attitude of joy regardless of any circumstances, starting from New Year. I believe this kind of attitude is far more powerful than an “unsure” Happy New Year “wish”.

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.