Articles

THIS IS A TIME FOR REFLECTION & RESOLUTION
By Edward Harris

By the time this article gets in to the hands of many of my readers, Christmas would be just a memory and the New Year will be dawning.

I hope that Christmas 2003 was a memorable one and brought you great JOY. As you reflect upon the past year and thanked the Heavenly Father for spared life, that you are not numbered among the dead but alive and praising him. Some of us lost loved ones during the past year and the holidays were not as it used to be but through it all, this side of heaven is still a wonderful place and with Faith in the Almighty, He will show you a way. Do I hear you say Amen! So be it, 2003 is gone, it cannot be all bad memories, be grateful for the good and thank God for the experience of the bad that you are now wiser.

We have crossed over Jordan; we have come to the promised land. Every New Year brings with it hopes for a brighter and better future. We should not sit back and hope for a change for the better in our lives. With God’s help we must plan for it. We must affirm that we serve a Mighty God and with his help we shall overcome. Believing that we can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us, we can go forward boldly to Affirm, to make Resolutions for the year 2004.

Let us see ourselves on mountaintop, overlooking the promised land. Feeling the unspeakable joy of having come thus far and by God’s grace, we are moving on. The year 2004 will be a Great Year for the citizens of the Caribbean. Don’t take my word for it look around you and count your blessings. Don’t bother about the curse you endured during the past year. No man can hold you down, let us go forward on the promises of God. As I said, look around you. Begin with your immediate environment, and then look beyond. A new day dawns. The isles have a special place in Biblical history. We are blessed and no matter how many of our fellow citizens try to turn that blessing into a curse, they just will not succeed.

Here are my thoughts for the New Year:

1. The time has come for us to be a united people. The Caricom Single Market and Economy must be reality no later than 31/12/04. I would be happy to see it happening much earlier in the New Year.
2. Those who are in a position to help others to succeed must stop being hindrances and be instruments to progress.
3. Our leaders must be more caring and seek to do things that will benefit the less fortunate in our midst.
4. In dealing with our fellowmen, we must be forgiving, remembering that God is over all of us and He is the final judge of all actions.
5. Employers be fair in dealing with your employees.
6. The world economy will experience growth and our people must be ready to benefit from the spin offs. Our attitude to work and to strangers must improve. We should strive for excellence.
7. The Private Sector must find effective ways of giving back to the community. Empowerment of the masses, equip them to make a contribution to their existence. The Private Sector must become an integral part of the developmental planning process, where necessary to pool resources to implement projects that will transform lives.
8. To survive in these challenging times, financial prudence must be applied at all levels.

Most persons will begin the New Year with a mission, most commonly referred to as a RESOLUTION. I will like to share some thoughts that will go into my resolution.

1. In celebration of the year 2004, I would like to be an agent for positive change. I am referred to as a Supreme Optimist by many persons but I have great faith in the Messiah’s gift of abundant living. If we can live abundantly in the spirit, we will surely experience it in the flesh. In dark times, one longs for light and if you are overcome by darkness you are finished – suicide becomes an option. So I pray that we will all strive to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. In fulfilling my wish I am dedicating myself to bring a ray of hope to all groups that will let me in to share with them Positive Thoughts that will transform lives. My theme is “Nothing Good Happens Without God!” I await your invitation.
2. Then through the printed word I wish to share with my readers, whether it is in the Crusader, my archive at www.stluciasimplybeautiful.com or through The Networker Magazine at www.thenetworkermagazine.com information that will educate, inform and motivate them to such an extent that they will become a blessing to themselves and others. I pray that those who are already doing similar things, will form a group, that together we can become a source for positive change.
3. I wish to continue to be a medium for promoting St. Lucia as a unique destination for business and pleasure in the Caribbean.
4. As technology advances I would like to get together with our local movers and shakers in the technology sector and do something special for St. Lucia and the world. We have to be more serious about technology and stop operating at the individual level and find ways to interact with each other. Today many are shying away from Associations but this is the time when more groupings should be formed to ventilate ideas and take action for the betterment of our nation and the world at large.

I challenge my readers to go forward into the New Year with a commitment to unity at all levels. United we shall stand strong, divided we are weak and vulnerable.

Let us pray for our leaders that they will lead us in the path that God has ordained. Let Love take on a new meaning and that their actions will be guided thereby. God is love and those who love God must first love their fellowmen. Let the New Year be characterized by LOVE!!!!!!!

Keep the Faith. Follow the course that God has charted for you. Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and he shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.

I wish above all that you will prosper and be in health.

See you in church on New Year’s Eve!!!!!!! Happy New Year!!!!!!!