The New Year is here and no doubt you’ll hear several renditions of Auld Lang Syne (Old Long Ago). It is a nostalgic song of times past. Sometimes we are held captive to our past and feel that we’ll never progress. With each additional year the Lord gives us, we have a chance to get a fresh start. Maybe we did not have the occasion to accomplish the goals we set last year, but this is a new year full of new possibilities.
We usually begin a new year with resolutions. We will lose weight, we will break a bad habit, we will be more dedicated at home, work or church; these are some of the usual ones we hear. So we begin our quest by joining a gym or a support group. We do great for about a month and then we begin to taper off until finally we give up on our resolution.
I usually begin my new year by making a list of goals I want to accomplish. Unfortunately, I tend not to go back and look at the previous year’s list to see what went undone. If I were to look back I would see that I tend to repeat some of the goals which were not accomplished. I would also discover that I did fulfill some of my goals. One goal which is usually at the top of my list is journaling. I always say that I will do a better job at journaling. Journaling helps me see if I have made any progress or if I am still struggling in the same areas. I sometimes end up with fewer entries than I planned.
Beating ourselves up about unfinished goals becomes a mainstay throughout the year. Remember that God has given us a new year and with it a fresh start. The bible states, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14). The important thing is that we not give up on our goals, but that we continue to strive to reach them. This New Year stay determined with the mindset that you will accomplish your goals. Keep pressing, for God has given you a fresh start.
Mother Vivian Valdez Pruitte