Since I love to write so much, many times I'll start writing a blog in my head, or in front of the mirror. Simply thinking through my thoughts from that day. And if they come together in any sort of fashion, I may choose to run to my computer & try to get them out in a coherent manner. This is stemming from one of those episodes.
I've been thinking since New Year's is just a few days away about resolutions for this year. I have many things I would love to simply get a hold of this year. I'd love to make amazing grades, master time management, figure out how to study efficiently, lose weight, be more positive, & simply just "fix" a lot of things. I do this every year; different year, but same goals. And every year, I fail. I have the same goals, & then I find myself falling into the same old patterns as the year before. Reclaiming bad habits, getting back into old routines. This isn't a post about goal setting, although that is something that's important to figure out. But this is about becoming a better person.
My goal is to become a better version of myself, every day.
I know that this year I will not wake up one morning & be a size 2, with A's on every single assignment or test, with perfect self control. But, by working on myself a little at a time, I can slowly grow to achieve the things I want to. This isn't even about determination, or personal initiative. Because those things require YOUR power. Your strong mindset, your skills at planning, your changing things yourself. And I don't know about you, but personally, my own efforts haven't really been getting me where I want to go. I'm weak. I decide to do something & at the first instance of being distracted, I'm off track. I can't focus on anything. I can't do things on my own power. The thing is though, I serve a God who can do it all.
I'm sure you've heard the phrase that someone has "made it". What does that mean exactly? Does it mean that someday you wake up & you have achieved success in such and such an area, & then it's done? That you quit because you've simply arrived? I know that I never want to stop growing. I want to wake up every day & know that I'm a little different than the day before; that I'm better. And like I said, this isn't going to come through my efforts. That is something that only God can do. Only through reading His word, & focusing on HIS plan for my life & who He wants me to be.
What I want this year, & every year that will follow this one, is to simply grow. To grow in faith, to grow in love, to grow in knowledge, to grow in skill. I want to examine my life daily though the lens of faith & His word, & see what needs to change, & allow Him to make those changes in me. Notice I didn't say that I would make them, because I can't. Only He can. Only He could save me, & only He can help me grow by His power. I hope that as I grow older, I will grow stronger. I hope that my faith will grow, & spill into the lives of those around me who may be lead to find faith of their own. I hope that I never fall into believing that I don't have anything left to accomplish; that I've just got things together. Because I know that no matter what condition my heart may reach through my faith in Him, He will always have things to change in me. I pray that I'm always open to those changes, & willing to encourage the same in others. I pray that I can withstand old sins & overcome them by God's power in me. I pray that I simply never stop growing, & growing closer to Him.
If I stay where I'm at, I will always be dealing with the same problems and challenges. But at some point you have to have enough of a desire to experience MORE of what He has for you, to be willing to work to defeat those challenges & move toward growing more like Him. And I know that I will never achieve perfection. But there is no reason why I can't work to become a little better, every day. Matthew 5:48 says "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Because we're sinners, we can never truly reach perfection, no matter what we do. But, He can always do a work in us if we're willing to commit our lives to growing closer to Him and getting to know Him better as we grow in our faith.
I hope this year for myself, & for you as well, that we can all work towards this:
"In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self control, and self control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone." 2 Peter 1: 5-7
Let's make becoming more like Jesus, our beautiful Savior, our main goal this year. Because surely, when we make that our focus, everything else will be touched by that & affected as a result. Let's make Him the anchor of our goals, & see what He can do through our lives as we live according to what He wants for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment