ell Thanksgiving came. There was turkey. We ate it. There was family. We spent time with them. There was football. We watched it. Then Thanksgiving was gone.

Then Christmas came. There was turkey. We ate it. There was football. We watched it. There was candy. We ate too much of it. There were presents. We opened them. There were songs. We sang them. There was family. We spent time with them. There were lights. We looked at them. There were new clothes. We wore them. There were new toys. We played with them. Christmas was gone.

Then New Year’s came. There were countdowns. We counted too. There was music. We listened. There was confetti. We threw it. There was football. We watched it. And then New Year’s was gone.

It seems like we wait an entire year for the holidays to get here. There is a huge build-up to the final days of the year. It all starts with Thanksgiving and winds down with New Year’s day. There goes another holiday season, and there goes another year.

As you look back over the past year, what are the things that stand out in your mind? What are the things that took place that matter? What did you accomplish in the last year? What did you do that added value to your life and the lives of the people around you? In this past year, did you capture every moment, not letting opportunities slip away? Did you live this past year, or were you like many people and just let life happen to you?

A statement hangs in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in our nation’s capital: “Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.” Let our days of standing by and watching be over. Make the most of every opportunity and be a person of resolve who captures the moments in everything that you do in this new year of 2008.