I don’t know about you, but I have personally never made a New Year’s Resolution that I have been able to completely stick to. Actually, at this moment, I cannot even remember a single resolution that I’ve ever made. Part of that is because I don’t like doing things just because everyone else is doing them. The other reason is that I’ve always believed that true change comes far less in the big moments than the little moments. Let me explain.
New Year’s Resolutions are often about big things in your life that you want to change: diet, exercise, attitude, job, family, etc. We are thinking big picture with our resolutions when our lives are actually lived in small moments most often. For example, when you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing you do? Check Facebook? Hit the snooze? Grab coffee? Scramble to get to work on time? How about how you spend your time when you get home from work? Are you focused on your family or just trying to make dinner, get the kids to bed, and prepare for another day? We usually aren’t taking these “small moment decisions” into account with our New Year’s Resolutions.
I am in no way saying we shouldn’t make them. I believe we should often look at the big picture of our lives and adjust the things that are lacking. I’m just suggesting that maybe the reason many of us struggle with sticking to them so much is that we are more focused on big moments that are few and far between than on the little moments that we spend most of our lives in. The apostle Paul put it this way:
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
- Colossians 3:17
Those little moments that you take for granted because they happen everyday are actually moments that you can live for the glory of God. So make big resolutions and spend some time reflecting on the big picture of your life, and then strive to fulfill those resolutions in the small moments of your life. Better yet, don’t wait until each new year to strive for change. His mercies don’t wait until January 1st to renew - they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Happy New Year to you all, and may God bless and keep you and your family this year.