“As the old year retires and a new one is born, we commit into the hands of our Creator the happenings of the past year and ask for direction and guidance in the new one. May He grant us His grace, His tranquility and His wisdom!” ~ Peggy Toney Horton
Today is a very special day. It is the beginning of a new year and, with it, the realization of new promise. Many people begin the new year with the age-old habit of making New Year Resolutions. Those resolutions are the butt of many a joke as we are all painfully aware of the fact that the vast majority of resolutions die a quick death. One of the great characters of our past, Mark Twain, spoke about New Year Resolutions thusly: “New Year’s Day. Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”
Why do our resolutions so often fail? I think Peggy Toney Horton puts it into perspective for us. She tells us that we need to commit the old year into the hands of God and ask His guidance for the new year. Therein, I believe, lies the basis of our failed resolutions. They are made without consulting God nor asking God for grace and divine assistance in keeping them.
Our New Year Resolutions too often are reflections of our own arrogance or vanity or baser needs and desires. Those will fail because while we may acknowledge, for a brief moment, the need to initiate change, we do not have the capacity to carry that change out since we would rather stick to the “tried and true”, even if the old way is a failing way.
However, if we view our upcoming year and its challenges through the eyes of God, we will have a much better opportunity to set realistic goals. That is because we will then be asking God for the help that we need rather than thinking that we will be able to do it all on our own.
It is the beginning of another year. Dream big. You can accomplish all that you plan if you ask God to be your partner in all that you do!
A Happy, Healthy, and Holy 2018 to you and yours.
FAITH ACTION: Recall the big moments of your life last year and thank God for being present to you, especially in the difficult or painful moments you may have experienced. Then, ask the Lord to help you set some goals for this new year.