Merry Christmas! I hope your Christmas is happy, healthy, and holy! Since this posts on Christmas day, we had to start there. In a week, though, the year is going to change. Farewell to 2020, and hello 2021. If we’re being honest, I’m confident that none of us saw this year coming. It has been a different and difficult year for everyone, and full on brutal for a lot of people. The overwhelming consensus, then, seems to be good riddance to 2020. And that’s fair enough, but remember, our problems don’t magically vanish once the change hits the calendar.
Honestly, one of my big takeaways from 2020 has been a sharp recognition of just how little I can actually control. Most things that happen, happen regardless of my feelings. That doesn’t, though, mean I’m going to get down and defeated. If anything, it means I have to take the things I can control that much more seriously. With that in mind, I want to take advantage of this slight change in the calendar to launch some significant changes in me. I’m going to go ahead and borrow some insight from Brandon on the goal setting front for the coming year, so if you haven’t yet, his post is worth a look.
My personal goal this year, as it is every year, is holiness. It will be an ongoing goal, one that won’t ultimately be achieved or completed, which makes setting some benchmarks incredibly important. It will require a change in my day to day life and should impact every aspect of it moving forward. The first change I need to make is a shift in how I spend my time. Holiness requires God being first, and an honest look at how I spend my time makes pretty clear that I haven’t been giving Him the attention I should. It’s time to bring back my Liturgy of the Hours practices from seminary, building the habit of prayer in the morning, throughout the day, and to end my day. This change will help me grow in holiness, which will show itself in my patience, my peace, and my ability to both give and receive love.
I know that New Year’s Resolutions tend to be a bit of a joke, but they were born out of a real need. However you do it, make sure you take some time to reflect on the year passing and take control of what you can for the year to come. Decide on at least one change you can make so that, no matter what the year holds, you can make the most of the opportunities you will have.
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