Wow, it’ll be Christmas in a couple of days, with New Years to follow next week. Soon we enter 2010…the beginning of a new month, the beginning of a new year, the start of a new decade. To paraphrase my dad, “So much can happen in [ten] years.” The past decade seems to have just flown by. Ten years ago, in Dec 1999, I was the team lead for IBM service techs in the Pacific Area and we were all anxiously waiting to greet the new year…and new millenium, but for reasons beyond just holiday cheer. It was really a worrisome time for those of us in the computer business. I remember having to reluctantly cancel most everyone’s leave for a three month period: Nov through Jan, just to ensure that we were fully manned in the event that something went wrong during the transition to the new era – especially for computer systems. For months, I attended weekly regional conference calls to discuss the issues and prepare. It was the eve of Y2K and we were unsure as to how the changeover from 19XX would affect accounting systems and databases across the countless bytes of storage and computing that our whole world seems to depend upon. As it turned out, we didn’t have very many glitches or problems at all and things quickly returned to normal almost as soon as the fireworks smoke cleared. And here we are, a decade later, at the brink of Y2K+10.

We all have years and even decades during which things seem pretty uneventful, with very little change. Other decades are just full of them. For over twenty years, I lived a blissful, seemingly unchanged life. My family lived together in the same house, Lynne worked her federal job, I worked at IBM, and the kids grew and continued their many years of schooling. Then, within the short 10 year span from 1999-2009, changes for the Nakamotos really sped up – today, I find myself and my family, living in a very different world: After 25 years, I was “resourced” by IBM in 2002, and restarted an environmental career in federal service two months later, both of our children completed their undergraduate and post-grad educations, launched their adult careers, got married, and moved away to start their own households, Lynne retired from the federal government in 2008 and started a post-retirement career with the state in 2009, and just last year, she and I moved to a new home, leaving behind, our old house of 30 years – even dad moved from his home of 46 years into a private care home. Yes, so many major life events happened to my family during this period – as I’m sure, has happened with yours. Not the least of which was, the birth of the NHPC Karate ministry in 2001, which, in 2009, evolved into HIS Karate Foundation. What I’ve taken away from this decade of milestones in change and growth, is that everything that’s truly important, happens in His timing, not necessarily when we want it to happen. We just have to be ready for that time and continue to do our due diligence every day.

Each day, each year, each decade, every lifetime; does not gain its significance by the mere passage of time, but rather, from what we choose to infuse it with. Whether we know it or not, whether we embrace it or not, there is a plan for every moment and for every action. Beyond our own personal plans, we also have to be able to respond to the unexpected in life. Just be aware that the majority of life is a period of equipping….preparing each of us to reach for the next level, the next milestone.

The holiday season is a time to spend with family and friends, a time to reflect upon the year that’s about to end, and a time to look ahead to the year we’re about to enter. My prayer for everyone is that we take this time to appreciate all of the blessings that we have received, that we recheck our directional headings for the new year, and that we re-dedicate ourselves to achieving what each of us is called upon to do.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!