Old Year Resolutions

I pulled down the old, scribbled calendar and stuffed it in a kitchen drawer near the trash can. Another year flown by. This first week of January reminds me of the one 12 months ago. I remember several resolutions as vividly as the day I made them. They spout off like kids on a school playground telling on me for not following through. I can’t defend myself because it’s true. Some I failed to finish, others I failed to start.  

It reminds me of the years I home-schooled our youngest daughter. The length of each school day was determined by the amount of work she accomplished. If she completed her lessons by noon, school let out early. Other times I’d call up the stairs, “Even though it’s four o’clock, you still have two pages of math to do. School is over when you finish your work.” One of the drawbacks of home-school, no bell to ring.

I have a feeling the Lord teaches by a similar policy. He doesn't set aside the lessons we need to learn just because we ignore them for a month, a year or a decade. The Creator of patience and perseverance encourages us to keep learning about His ways and wisdom. 

    

Today I’m shaking the dust off a few old year resolutions, this blog being one of them. With new resolve I again stretch toward certain goals, hoping to honor God in the process.

If, like me, tossing out your old calendar stirred up guilt over all those undone resolutions, check out the following verse.  

       “I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, 
       forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forward to those 
       things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the 
       upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13).  

  Though many of us don’t make (and thereby can’t break) resolutions, the new year is still a good time to rekindle hopes and aspirations. January may remind us of all we didn't do, but God’s Word reminds us to look forward and reach in that direction. Happy 2014!