Don't Waste the New Year

Another year has come and gone. Another Christmas season has passed. Maybe the busy holiday season has felt like a whirlwind; you wait for so long and then it's here one moment and gone the next. Maybe your heart is full from all the gatherings and expressions of love. Maybe you're looking forward to getting back to the normal routine again. Maybe you need a break from all the gatherings for a little while. Maybe you're disappointed by the post-Christmas letdown. Regardless, the New Year always seems like the time when people start contemplating the year gone by and the changes they want to see in the year to come.

The other night I started reflecting with my wife about the kind of year we've had. I hope we make this a tradition we do with our kids every year to really think back on God's blessings. We talked about the experiences we were blessed to give our kids, the changes that we made to our home, the things we tried to grow in as a family. It's the first year all our kids were in school together. We looked back and reflected on some of the things we've been able to see God do in our lives and in our church. A lot can happen in a year. Some good things, some really hard things too. It puts things into perspective when we look back on what God has done over the year. It's worth it to take inventory of what we've been up to and what God has been up in our lives. It also helps us imagine how we hope to grow in the year to come.

 We love to talk about New Year's Resolutions in our culture. Those can be helpful in some ways. What "resolutions" do you have for the new year? Maybe you don't even want to call them resolutions, but what goals do you have for the New Year? Maybe it's the year you check something off your bucket list. You go on that trip you've been putting off, you make the memory you've been hoping for. Maybe it's the year to focus on your health, eat healthier, exercise more, kick a bad habit. Maybe it's the year you finish your degree, get that job, buy that house, etc.

What if we had goals related to how we hope to grow in our spiritual lives? Maybe this is the year you read through the entire Bible in a year. Maybe it's the year you really commit to a Bible study (or maybe even lead one!). Maybe it's the year you go on a conference that will help you grow in God's Word. Maybe it's when you build new routines into your life that help you draw near to God, like daily devotions, practicing spiritual disciplines, serving those in need, visiting the people God has laid upon your heart more regularly. Maybe it's the year you mend that broken relationship. Maybe it's a commitment to deeper community with the believers.

We can make these commitments any time of year, but our culture and calendar give us a natural opportunity to refocus on what God's will is for our growth. It's important not to waste the opportunity to think it through. This time next year, how do you hope to reflect back on how you've grown closer to God? How you've served him in new ways, how he's surprised you with the ways you never thought you could experience him? Let's imagine together the wonderful blessing of drawing near to our gracious and loving God.