Tomorrow is Christmas Day. Exactly one week from tomorrow will be the first day of the new year! I love new beginnings. I love the ponderings that often come with the onset of a new year. I love the freshness that a new year brings. At the beginning of a new year many people make goals for themselves, often called resolutions. I have made many resolutions over the years. Some have been met. Many have not. That's okay. That does not stifle my enthusiasm for the new year.
Some may say that every new day is like a new year. Each day holds potential to be different from the last. Certainly every day that we are given is a gift and should be lived purposefully, but a new day is mere hours away from us...no more that 24 hours apart from the last one. A new year takes 365 days to wait for until we are given another one. That's why it's special. I value each day. I am thankful for each day and for every year.
As I look back over my life and forward into this new year I hope to live this one with the greatest purpose. Freedom is my holy word for this year. Since 2012 I have had a key word for each new year.
First, it was Grace.
In 2013 it was Discipline.
In 2014 it was Action.
This year it is Freedom.
As I ponder these keywords I feel like they are all going to somehow join together this year. As I sit here and reflect these are my thoughts: We must walk in grace toward one another and toward ourselves. As we have been shown so much grace from God we should extend that same grace liberally to those whom we meet. We should be disciplined within ourselves whether at work, in the home, at school, in ministry or any other thing we may put our hand to. Dreaming and planning are fun, but at some point we must have action to go with those dreams and plans. Also, our lives should line up with our words, especially if we are professing Christ and His love for this world. The old song sums it up well, "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love..."
Finally, we must walk in freedom. We must be free in our spirits, not bound by things that seek to hold us down...whether anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, grief, sorrow, poor self-image or any similar thing. If we allow others to define us then we do not allow ourselves to be free. If we seek to define others, we seek to enslave and wield a power that is not ours to wield. If we walk in love, we wield a power that keeps us free and may even help to set others free.
If we live our lives with grace, discipline, action and freedom I wonder how our lives might change. I wonder how we may impact this world around us. I don't know about you but I plan to find out. 2015 here I come!!
