At this point in the year we are about five month’s away from our most recent new year’s resolutions. Where are you with those resolutions?
A number of people will say that they stopped making new years resolutions. When asked why, they will tell you that they do not like setting themselves up for failure. The question: is not having a goal easier than pursuing a goal and not reaching it? At that point, mediocrity has been embraced! We are guilty of being poor stewards of that which has been given to us. “Well done, good & faithful servant” becomes elusive.
When I was young my parents sent me to Camp Miniwanca, in Shelby, Michigan. At this camp I had an opportunity to meet kids from all over the country and engage in activities that I had only dreamed about. This camp has a motto that is compelling: “My own self, at my very best, all the time.”
Now, fifty years later, I find myself reviewing that input and how it relates to my personal commitments. If I believe that I am really called to be my very best, all the time in the context of being me….then I charge into life with a different intensity and a different focus.
Resolutions can become those destination points on a map that orient our journey & provide a sense of direction. They become a grid that empowers us to move forward. Just as easily they can become a measuring stick that is used to inflict inadequacy and shame.
Often times we see resolutions through the lens of success & failure. When we waffle on the performance of a resolution, we allow that to define us & we confirm our worst fears. We toss in the towel with one defiant, all or nothing, sort of gesture. We let go of the resolution and we give up.
There is another way. It is the way of those who catch a vision and keep moving in the direction of that vision. It is the way of those who hear a call and respond to it. It is the way of those who run, walk, crawl….those that keep moving forward. It is the way of those that keep the promises that they make to themselves. After all that is the core of personal integrity & that is what wins the day.
These people grasp onto their goals & resolutions in order to become the people that God has designed them to be. They are the people who understand:
“The essential thing in heaven & earth is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; the results…… something which has made life worth living.” (Nietzsche)
So the question this day: Will you reengage with your resolutions? Knowing that your success or failure does not define you. Know that you have been called to keep the promises you make to yourself and to your Lord. Ultimately, maintaining a long obedience in the same direction, will win the day and you will glorify Him!
How are you choosing to engage this day?
Please share your thoughts with all of us!
Embrace the Adventure!
-Dick