New Year, New You
Happy New Year, Readers!
Over the Christmas break, I took some time away from my blog to be present with my family. As we spent time together celebrating Christmas, we also had some time to reflect on 2018 - what a year it was. From moving, transitioning jobs, experiencing loss, and starting my doctorate I had a lot to think about and reflect on.
As the new year begins, I’ve enjoyed watching how folks are approaching their New Year’s resolutions. While I’ve started to see articles and op-ed pieces come out on ‘why people shouldn’t make resolutions anymore,’ I have been surprisingly pleased to look at the commitments my friends are making to better themselves in 2019.
While there is plenty written on the subject of goal setting, strategies for practical and achievable goals and such, I do think resolutions are an essential aspect of our Christian heritage. When we look through the narrative of Scripture, it is easy to see the theme of resolving-before-acting with a closer look at the desert stories. Moses and Jesus both enter the desert (wilderness) for preparation before publicly participating in their Kingdom Vocation. That is, Moses and Jesus prepared themselves for a season, they resolved themselves for a season, to know how to act when the trials and temptations came.
A lot of what I see for 2019 are commitments to seek truth, to cut out the BS, and to begin living life in new-found freedom. I love it.
For Kristen and I, we want 2019 to be about joy, light, and life that is revealed to us in embracing slowness, steadiness, and contemplation. Contemplative practices help us to begin to respond instead of reacting to the circumstances around us. Contemplation deepens our well for gratitude and patience and helps us see the joy in our lives as we encounter the world around us.
What are you hoping for in 2019? What are your goals for light and life this year?