A New Year

So, I know I missed writing last week's blog entry on love...the holidays sort of threw me off and it wasn't until last Thursday that I realized I hadn't written anything on Tuesday. So, at that point, I just decided to finish taking 'off' the rest of the week and start fresh today.



A fresh start. That is what we all want sometimes, right? Particularly at the beginning of a new year. A new year has begun and I bet a lot of you have made resolutions, right? There are lots of things many of us want to change about ourselves and our lives during the next year. This pressure that we put on ourselves to change, however, can cause a lot of anxiety. And anxiety, is something I have decided to get rid of this year. :)


Usually, I have been right there with most Americans, setting resolutions for the New Year. In the past some of my resolutions have been: to eat better, to exercise more, to stay out of bad relationships, to add more prayer time each day, to read the Bible more each day, to be more patient with others...and the list can go on and on.


This year, however, I didn't set any resolutions. I thought about it briefly and decided that I really didn't feel like it. For me, New Year's resolutions usually last about a month. About the time it takes to get into the swing of writing the correct year when I write a check or go to the bank. By the end of January, I have pretty much gone back to whatever it is I was doing before. New Year's resolutions tend to be pretty big goals that can be overwhelming and hard to complete successfully.

I know that I tend to be more successful at long term goals if I take life one day at a time. Sort of a strange thing to say, but it is true. I do better if I break up big things into small ones. Then they seem managable. In chapter 6 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us that God will provide us with what we need. He tells us "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34) It sounds like God knows we try to get ahead of ourselves, huh? Anxiety is taking issues from the future and putting them in the present. God doesn't want us to be filled with anxiety about tomorrow or the day after or the day after that. God wants us to live in today, knowing that he is with us in this moment.

So, despite the fact that I said I didn't make a resolution this year, I guess I have. I have resolved to take life one day at a time and leave tomorrow's worries for it's own calendar day.

CS

I think we get really hyped up about the turn of the year. It can mean different things to different people. Moving on from disappointments, letting go of failures and successes to look toward what might happen next.