Finding a New Kind of Resolution

I've always loved New Year's Day, the annual fresh start. Followed by January - the month of potential.

I recall sitting down one January years ago with a yellow legal pad, pencil in hand, ready to determine my New Year's resolutions.

I thought through each major area of my life: my career, relationships, finances and faith. I wrote down all the things I wanted to stop doing, and all the things I wanted to start doing.  I looked over my list. And immediately felt overwhelmed.

I clearly had much to work on. Much to do. Much to fix. Much to establish. And much to kick.

I was going to need more coffee.

It was that same familiar urge rising up that I talked about in my devotion published today with P31: to try to make myself both more and less of me. Am I the only girl repeatedly plagued by such thoughts?

I assumed tackling all these flaws and developing all these good practices would make my life great - and that's a hard belief to shake.

Then I cracked open my Bible, with its message of grace and of Spirit-fueled transformation. Looking through the lens of the Gospels, I saw a different story than the one scribbled on my notepad. And I got a much needed injection of direction.

　

"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."  ~ Jesus in John 15:4 

I realized that life in Christ is not intended to be an exercise in willpower for behavior modification. It’s intended to be an exercise in yielding for heart transformation.

Once again Jesus shushed my endless listing of all the things I want to change or improve about myself. Once again He afforded me humble contentment with who I am and who I'm made to be, along with the promise of coming fruit. Really, what could be better?

I do New Year's resolutions quite differently now, but you can read about that in my previous post.

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