I used to make resolutions. On paper. I made a list. In those days, a new year seemed less like a gift than like a course for which I was writing myself a syllabus with required assignments to complete.

Fifteen years ago or so, I tried thankfulness instead. Stress melted away. Regret forgot how to find me. Who knew that thankfulness could be so relaxing?

And so, I open my heart to the gift of this day.

I float across the threshold from one year to the next, absorbed in noticing, in both the ordinary and the marvelous, how kind God is. This takes my breath away.