A new decade is upon us
December 31, 2009 (Thursday)
This is the final day of the year 2009. I have a trivial little prediction to make: people will start saying twenty instead of two thousand when giving the date. “Twenty ten” is easier to say than “Two thousand ten,” I think, so that’s my forecast. It will catch on more each year and will become standardized. Just call me Nostradamus. (On second thought, don’t—that’s harder to say than “Charles”).
We seem to like to use verbal shortcuts when it comes to the date. Haven’t you heard or said, “the thirties” or “the sixties?” Everyone knows that means the 1930’s and the 1960’s. Given enough time, however, the present century will own the decades. In the year 2045, no one is going to describe the 1930’s as “the thirties.” When they use that term then it will mean the “twenty thirties,” or, if you prefer, “the two thousand thirties.”
Aren’t you glad you took the time to read this blog today? Thirty-five years from now you will speak the date and remember that some blogger predicted you would do it a certain way.
Seriously, when 2010 dawns, will you make some kind of new start in your life? Many people will. Through the years, I noticed two times during the year that a new excitement and church loyalty appeared: when a new school year started in the fall, and when a new calendar year began. Deep inside, we long for a clean slate and a new beginning. The good news is that God wants to give those to you. Just ask Him. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5 NASB).