A certain wife made a resolution for her overweight husband that he would eat more healthy foods. No more cheeseburgers and fries; no more donuts and cakes. Being a loving husband he obliged her. Several years later they both died in a car accident. Once in heaven they were confronted by rows and rows of banquet tables as far as the eye could see. Each table was loaded with fried foods, chocolates, cakes, donuts, and pies. The husband looked at his wife and said, “Honey, if it weren’t for you I could have been here ten years ago!”
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?
I remember making yearly lists of things I wanted to do differently: eat better, eat less, exercise more, learn a skill, finish any number of endless projects… But of course, along with a well-intentioned multitudes of others, I often let my resolutions go unmet as I went back to life-as-it-has-always-been. The tyranny of the daily schedule and personal desires trumped my desire to change.
Maybe it is the fact that cancer has a way of getting hold of one’s attention in a fresh and unique way. Or more so that it has a way of us letting GOD get our attention. It leaves me thinking about resolutions that are actually worth pursuing. Resolutions that speak to our heart are ones that actually work.
One key to making resolutions work is seeing in your mind’s eye the benefit of sticking with it and the negative consequence of giving up. Imagine how your life (and the world around you) would be forever impacted by intentionally looking for ways to appreciate, value, and encourage others every day. How might your life (and others) be changed for the better if you decided not to say anything bad about anyone else, ever? What if you gave up negative sarcasm and interacted with others as Jesus did? What if you determined to use transition times (those interlude moments between tasks or appointments) to thanking God for your many blessings? Developing an attitude of gratitude may increase your years and your joy even more than a diet plan.
Listen to your heart. Better yet, listen to God’s heart as he desires to bless you with his presence. Instead of always striving to do more, make this the year you determined to BE more…be more in tune with God’s best for you!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13