It’s that day again! The day that everybody has plans to end the year with their best friends, watch the Ball Drop in Times Square, sing Auld Lang Syne, shoot off fireworks at midnight, and write out a list of their New Year’s resolutions. All of these things are awesome, and I’m personally a fan of the resolutions.
Resolutions are AWESOME, because even though you can start doing these things before the New Year, your mind is in such a positive, renewed state once the clock strikes midnight! Everyone around the world has plans to be with family more, pay off debt, exercise every day, stop smoking, do more random acts of kindness, learn a new hobby, and the most common… Eat healthy. (This is one I’ve tried every year, made it to about lunch time on New Year’s Day, and gave up.) These are all super great resolutions, and a lot of them are on my list for 2016!
My main resolutions are to be more selfless, eat healthier (HAHA, here we go again), drink more water, try to go and run regularly (this one is going to be a really awesome hit or an absolute airball… My best friend wants me to sign up for a HALF MARATHON with her. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the fact that I never run to begin with. And on the fact that I agreed to it. So, we’ll see how long this lasts…), radiate positive vibes, and to carve out time for Jesus every single day (not just when it is the most convenient for me).
I thought I had some pretty nice resolutions, so I got out my planner (I LOVE MY PLANNER) and wrote them all down. I sat down for my quiet time for the day, and I was reading in Ephesians. As I was reading, I came up on this verse:
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
-Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
What an awesome verse for this time of year, amiright?! Here is what my heart heard when I read this verse:
The Old Self (2015): mistakes, broken resolutions (the first one being at lunchtime on New Year’s Day), days of apathy, selfishness, and lack of faith at times
The New Self (2016): growth from mistakes, completed resolutions, caring for everyone and everything around me, selflessness, and 100% trust in God
Now, it seems like my 2015 was basically me being a heathen for the entire year, but I had good moments, too! (I promise, no matter how horrible I made my Old Self out to be.) With this verse though, I was focusing on the negatives I had this past year where I was corrupted. If I can find the negatives and fill those blanks with positives, then that will lead me to my New Self. Of course, I will still make mistakes in this next year, that’s a given! I’m human. But, that only means that this time NEXT year, I can reflect on what I need to fix in 2017, and I can continue to grow and grow and grow every year!
That’s what I love about God. He gives us so many chances to change, while having so much mercy on us no matter how bad we NEED to change and disregard it. No matter what, God always assures us and gives up opportunities to learn and grow from the decisions we make.
I hope you take today to reflect on the past year - the negatives for your resolutions, but don’t forget the positives so you can keep it up for the next 366 days (IT’S A LEAP YEAR)! My prayer is that we all have a year full of happiness, learning experiences, an abundance of ice cream (forget the eating healthy part for a minute), chances to pet dogs, and a whole lot of those God moments.
Thank you for an awesome 2015, I wouldn’t have changed one thing about it!
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