Okay…So it’s only a few days after New Year (today is The Feast of the Epiphany), how are your resolutions for this New Year going so far? I am glad to be Christian—because forgiveness for mistakes is where it’s at, I’m thinking… So, as Christians, we also believe in resurrection—a new day, a new chance. Thank you, Lord! Maybe we need to re-shape our thinking about what it is we resolve for the New Year…
How about a different type of Day Planner for this year? You could create some different ‘Sabbaths’ in your year. Mark down your vacations first—the times where you will get away for relaxation, recreation, and renewal. Find one day monthly where you turn off the TV, the computer, and the world, in order to spend planned quiet time to hear God’s voice. Then identify other dates for when you surround yourself with family and friends: feasting together, remembering the good in all of God’s creation—other times to remember to be thankful—not just the usual ones we always have anyway.
The result of this plan: that your new year’s life would be marked by a holy intimacy with God, confident to the core of your soul that your sins are forgiven—and you would be marked by thanksgiving—and always thanking God for salvation, for victory, for life itself. Along with more holidays, you might find more holy-days. And everything else you have resolved might become easier to accomplish—in the perspective of all things in and through God. (Keeping the date for your treadmill might not be so hard in the light of a God- perspective!)
So: have a personal “epiphany” for this New Year: about how you plan your time, how you spend your time, and the priorities of your time. Thinking this way may shine a light on all of your resolutions, and you’ll keep what is worth keeping, and not worry so much about the rest. In fact, like the magi we hear about today, you may find your own personal treasures—treasures of spiritual experience. Then share your spiritual gifts, and you will be a star of shining light to those around you.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
How about a different type of Day Planner for this year? You could create some different ‘Sabbaths’ in your year. Mark down your vacations first—the times where you will get away for relaxation, recreation, and renewal. Find one day monthly where you turn off the TV, the computer, and the world, in order to spend planned quiet time to hear God’s voice. Then identify other dates for when you surround yourself with family and friends: feasting together, remembering the good in all of God’s creation—other times to remember to be thankful—not just the usual ones we always have anyway.
The result of this plan: that your new year’s life would be marked by a holy intimacy with God, confident to the core of your soul that your sins are forgiven—and you would be marked by thanksgiving—and always thanking God for salvation, for victory, for life itself. Along with more holidays, you might find more holy-days. And everything else you have resolved might become easier to accomplish—in the perspective of all things in and through God. (Keeping the date for your treadmill might not be so hard in the light of a God- perspective!)
So: have a personal “epiphany” for this New Year: about how you plan your time, how you spend your time, and the priorities of your time. Thinking this way may shine a light on all of your resolutions, and you’ll keep what is worth keeping, and not worry so much about the rest. In fact, like the magi we hear about today, you may find your own personal treasures—treasures of spiritual experience. Then share your spiritual gifts, and you will be a star of shining light to those around you.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
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