[Re]Start...the Promise of a New Year

I don't know about any of you, but I always get very reflective in that week of awkwardness between Christmas and New Years.  I like to think back over the past year, the things I said I was going to do and didn't, the wins, the fails, the shortcomings, the blessings...it's just a good time to reevaluate where I am, and where I want to be, and what I need to do to get there.

I love the promise of a new year.  It's like a piece of clay, just waiting to be shaped and formed and molded into something wonderful and messy and chaotic and beautiful.

I'm not one to make resolutions.  I am completely honest with myself about my lack of personal discipline.  Resolutions are essentially just setting myself up for failure.  If you are the type to make and stick to resolutions, I salute you and your will-power.  I don't understand it, but I respect it.  I was re-reading some of my old blog posts today, and the posts from way back in 2013 about how I was going to change my life to become a better adult made me laugh.  I basically have made little to no improvement in any of those areas that I proclaimed I was going to change.  Because, like I said, I am the first to admit that I have very, very little personal discipline.

So I am approaching this new year in a slightly different manner than I have in the past, by taking a simple vow: to love God, others and myself better in the coming year.  Each of those things will manifest themselves in different ways, and I will share some of the things that I'm doing, changing, coping with, etc. throughout the coming year. Unexpected things are going to happen, and I'm excited to see where life takes me in the days, weeks and months ahead.

The truth is, change is rarely easy, and it is seldom quickly brought to fruition.  Change takes hard work. Deliberate action. Continuous thought. But change is also necessary in order to become one step closer to who we were created to be.

My hope is to continue to reevaluate my life this year by asking myself will this help me love God, others and/or myself better? To me, this seems like a pretty good litmus test that encompasses all of the usual new year's resolution goals.

Will skipping this workout help me to love myself better? Nope.  

Will complaining about this or that help me to love others better? Nope.  

Will spending more time in Bible study and reflection help me love God more? Yep.

I want to challenge you to spend some time this weekend in reflection.  Maybe you don't have any plans for New Year's Eve other than enjoying your own company. That's ok! Spend time journaling and reflecting and praying about this coming year.  Think about the things in your life that you need to change, and the small steps you can take to make this year better than last. Refocus your life, and figure out how you can get back on track.  Maybe you have a jam-packed weekend ahead of you. That's ok! Find a few spare moments here and there to reevaluate and reassess.

If you're good at resolutions, and already have your list in place for 2016, good for you! But if you are like me, and want to keep things simple this year, I want to encourage you to find a vow that you can carry with you through the year to come, or feel free to make my vow your vow, and we can journey through this upcoming year together!

Here's to new beginnings. Welcome, 2016.

-A.A.

Be at war with your vices, 

at peace with your neighbors,

and let every new year find you a better man.

[Benjamin Franklin]