Now that it’s January 2nd …

Let’s talk about those New Year’s Resolutions. If you made them, how’s it going? If not, why not? I’m genuinely curious for a couple of reasons.

First, I don’t make them. Not anymore – inevitably I kept setting myself up for failure, and with that came the accompanying guilt and maybe even shame. So eventually I quit them.

Second, I came across some interesting statistics. (I saw these numbers in several places, so I think they’re probably close.)

• 9% of Americans complete their resolutions
• 43% quit by the end of January
• 23% quit by the end of the first week

Now, I’m not saying your resolutions are bad, or that we shouldn’t ever do them. But those stats got me reflecting on my own experiences. I vowed to quit this, start that, do better at something important, set boundaries over there, and at one time I had lofty career and financial goals as well.

Those things represented my definition of success, and my New Year’s Resolutions reflected my quest.

I don’t think about success in those terms at all anymore. I think about Kingdom success. For me, that can look like forgiveness when it’s hard, flexibility when I had other plans, holding things loosely, not living in the future but staying in today.

That last one is big for me – I want to stay present. John Roedel said, “Life isn’t the ocean – it’s the wave.” I want spend mine riding the waves, not being scared of the ocean.

Success by the world’s definition is fleeting. Kingdom success means significance, and that lasts forever. We want our lives to matter. The truth is that our purpose is very simple: To know Jesus, and to make Him known. Once we know Him, we find that He has specially equipped us to make Him known to others, perhaps in ways that don’t look conventional. He becomes known when He is shown. He is shown when our shining faces reflect Him truly, and people will want to know why we shine.

Final thought for today. We must remember that this is not our home. CS Lewis captured it perfectly in Mere Christianity:

My plan for next year is simply to trust Him enough to let Him choose my path. If I’m about God’s business, He will see to mine.

So go easy on yourself, my friends, whatever you decide about resolutions for this year. You are loved.

Angie