New Year, New Goals

Everyone talks about the new year as a way to start over. They choose to believe that they will forget everything that happened in their lives over the past year and have a clean slate. I thought that it was smart for people to do that and for a while I actually thought it might be possible, but the truth is that its not. Unless you loose your memory you are not going to forget everything that happened. In reality I don't want to. The pain and loss that I felt has taught me so much and I have come so far since then. To forget it would be to pretend like it didn't happen and that it didn't matter. Every single thing that happened to me is not going away just because there is a new year upon us. 

I spent my year learning, loving, growing, gaining, losing, hurting, and living. I cried and I laughed just like everyone else and I choose to go into this new year moving forward with everything that God has brought into my life throughout all of 2012. I'm not going to face this year with a false idea that I get to start all over. My life started over the day I accepted Christ  into my heart and now there are no more start overs. I was already born again meaning that I already had my start over.

The other favorite thing that people do is write out their new year resolutions. I used to do that when I was little because I figured that if everyone else did it, I should too. Some of you have probably written those lists out too at some point. Ask yourself this question, when have you ever actually followed those new year resolutions for more than a week into January or a couple weeks? It is not that we set unrealistic goals for ourselves, its that we set goals that we think we should reach but don't really want to. We have no motivation to continue following those resolutions once the holiday buzz has worn off.

Rather than repeat our past mistakes, or make up some random resolutions lets make it count. Set goals that you can reach. Don't do it on your own, bring others into it with you to keep you accountable. There is a passage in Philippians that gives us the guidelines for a great "resolution" through Christ.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-15

I'm not setting a resolution this year, I am setting a goal. I am making a suggestion that both you and I set a goal. My goal is to grow closer to God and to stay faithful in my walk with Him. So now that you know mine, figure out what yours is!