How many of us make a resolution for change on New Year's Eve about something we really want to change in our lives? We're all about making it happen. We'll read books on the subject, sign up for gym memberships, start journals or ______________ (fill in the blank). We'll be passionate about it for the first few weeks (or even less). Then life continues and we get busy. We'll make excuses to ourselves about why we haven't been able to keep the resolution. Before we know it, time has passed and we realize that we didn't "keep" our resolutions. We feel guilty. We feel like we've failed. We feel like "nothing will ever change."
When you think about it, it's a pretty terrible way to start a New Year, isn't it?
What if the resolution we made was not to have any more New Year's resolutions?
I stopped making New Year's resolutions years ago. It wasn't that I couldn't keep them (I failed more often than not), it was the realization that I am a WIP, a Work In Progress. I don't need to make a "resolution" on New Year's Eve. What I need to do is to examine my life on a regular basis to see what changes can be made and then work toward making them. It still takes effort, determination, and self-discipline on my part, but I also spend time in prayer asking for help to make the change. In Philippians 4:13 it says that "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." When I am struggling to keep on a path to change, I know that I am not alone. I can turn to the One who helps me. He knows I'm a Work In Progress and loves me anyway.
What if we decided, today, not to make any more New Year's resolutions? What if we decided, instead, to work on those areas in our lives throughout the year? To remember that it's ok to be Works In Progress?
New Year's Resolution? Not me!
