I heard a good joke today: What do you call the day before New Year’s Eve? New Year’s Adam, of course.

I can’t wrap my head around the fact that is is day 364 of 2011. It still feels like it should be August. Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas should all be months away.

But I’m looking at all those festive holidays in my rearview mirror and looking at 2012 coming up fast. Only one more full day and it will be a new year with all sorts of new potential and new possibilities and a whole slew of unknowns and variables.

Sometimes I wish I had a remote button for my life with an oversized pause button. That way I could stop everything and take it all in and appreciate all of it. I could stop and smell all those roses.

There is no pause button for life. There’s no way to stop time so you can really appreciate all you have. You have to let go of some good things that keep you from the better things and keep you from enjoying the little moments.

That’s why prayer is so important. It forces you to stop all the madcap rushing around and focus on what really matters in life and why we’re here. Prayer reminds us of two truths: 1) that we’re not in control and 2) God is. Prayer reminds us that we are still needy, dependent creatures who have nothing and can do nothing without God.

Life is too short for regrets and grudges and posturing and impatience. Life is now, and we miss it if we’re always looking ahead to the next big event. God is with us here in this moment where we are. We can’t hear Him if we’re dwelling in the past or always anticipating the future.

If you have a resolution for 2012, make it this: live each day as it comes and cherish every moment God gives you, for each moment is unique and will never come again in exactly the same way.

Happy New Year in advance from a nobody who’s still trying to tell everybody about Somebody who can save anybody.