Almost. A powerful word. A life-changing word, whether for good or bad. An overlooked word.
He almost died. Good result. She almost made it to the finish line. Kudos for effort, but a bad result. The drunk driver almost hit a pedestrian. Good result.
But perhaps the most significant connotation of the word is when choices are made—or not made—due to “almost.”
Why do we do that? Why do we almost apply for that job? Why do we almost connect with that attractive someone? Why do we almost send that song, book, script to an agent or publisher? Why do we almost accept a job transfer to another city, state, or even country?
No doubt there are a myriad of factors that affect our decisions, but maybe the most prominent is our fear. Fear of failure. Fear of the unknown. Fear of rejection. Fear of getting out of our comfort zone.
Making life-changing choices is not easy and should never be viewed that way. Sometimes the results of our decisions are worse than we expected, and we regret making them. Sometimes they’re better.
Perhaps a good resolution for 2018 is not to allow fear to prompt the “almost” in our lives. At my church, we sing a song Almost Persuaded. Part of the lyrics read “almost cannot avail, almost is but to fail.” The implication of the song is fear of acceptance leads to lost salvation, but the idea is applicable to the secular as well.
“Almost is but to fail.” Maybe, maybe not. But we shouldn’t let fear be the reason for the “almost” in our lives.
Life As I know it 