Last year, I set my New Year's resolution to write on this blog every week. I didn't horribly fail at meeting my resolution. I wrote over 35 different posts, which is pretty good, considering that I did live in Ghana for five weeks, and I had this major life adjustment of bringing three children home.
Why do people make resolutions? I resolved to write this blog; we resolve to lose weight; we resolve to exercise more; to work less and play more; to pay off debt. Our list of resolutions can be long and tiresome, and unattainable. To me, the word resolve seems very formal and legal. In fact, "resolutions" proposed at annual conference sessions contain the phrase "therefore, be it resolved that..." Resolutions are legislation; and maybe that's where the rub is.
Resolutions expect perfection; they set us up to fail. Resolving to lose weight may well result in an additional 10 pounds and a bigger waist size. Resolving to write a blog weekly may result in resentment - blogging because one has to, not because someone wants to (that was not the case for me, most of the time). The pressure to keep the resolution drives us. "I must keep the resolution," and suddenly, keeping the resolution becomes a means to an end. There's no room for God's grace.
This year, I will not resolve to lose weight, get in shape, or blog each week. Instead, I'll ask God what God desires for my life; for my family's life. Then, I'll try to follow what God says. The path will be full of twists and turns, and sometimes, take me to places I don't want to go. However, God's grace will be sufficient for the journey, offering me forgiveness, sustenance, and strength.
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