Brand New Year

It’s a brand New Year, full of all sorts of wonder and possibilities. I always look forward to a new year and start planning goals right away. For me, a New Year is like a slate wiped clean and ready for new beginnings, new plans and all sorts of fun. I make a list of things I want to see accomplished and then reflect on a plan to go about doing each one. More often than not, I do not finish all my goals. I would guess it is because of the fact my list is so long.

This year is no different. I made my list, organized it into sections of things I wanted to see happen in our home, personal goals and even spiritual goals. I reviewed it again yesterday as we are now mid-way through the month of January. Except for my daily bible reading, a ritual I began years ago, I found I hadn’t given too much thought into some of my goals yet.

I could blame it on my busy life, but if truth be known, I had just been too lazy and not committed enough to do anything about them. Ouch! Truth hurts, especially coming from within my own self. However, if I am to be honest, if I am to succeed, the finger of blame should be pointed right back at me. I have no one else to blame, trust me, I have tried.

You may be asking yourself as you read this post; “Why bother?”
I have asked myself that very question and for a few years I didn’t make any goal setting or resolutions as some may call them. I gave up, waved the white flag of surrender and then sat and waited for life to happen to me. What I found was if I didn’t take control, if I didn’t set goals, then my life seemed stale. I can’t stand stale; I can’t stand just sitting around waiting.

The first half of my life I had been guilty of allowing too many to dictate my life and I was not a happy person. Then for a few years, I tried doing it on my own, that didn’t work either. What I have found is truthfully, I am not in complete control of my own life, only God can be in control. I wrestle with this quite a bit, let me tell you. It is not because I do not have faith in God, it is because I don’t think I should bother Him with little ole me. After all, isn’t He busy with World Peace and bigger issues in the world?

Then as I grew a little older, a little wiser (I am still growing mind you) I realized something. God is my Father, my parent and doesn’t He want the same good things in my life that I want for my children? Wouldn’t I move heaven and earth to help my children with a problem? The answer is a resounding YES!

So this year, as I contemplate my goals, as a matter of fact today even, I will ask God’s will in what I want and then stop wrestling and allow Him to take the reins in my life. I know this is not an instant thing, for I am not an easy child, but it is a start. So today I will begin with prayers over my list, I will cross off the things that don’t really matter and concentrate on the ones that do. Today I will begin anew, refreshed, relaxed and knowing I am in good hands.

Okay God, I am ready, what do you have in mind for me today? Take my hand and led me, I am all yours.

Teresa Gale