Happy New Year!

The custom of making New Year’s resolutions is as old as humankind. The first record of it dates to the ancient Babylonians. Even today, in a world so vastly different from theirs, many of us sit down and dutifully make our resolutions for the New Year.

If your resolutions are anything like mine, they are usually trashed by Groundhog Day! Life intervenes and unexpected obligations interrupt our time at the gym. Or we get a care package from a favorite aunt whose homemade treats we’ve never been able to resist. Most of us, in our enthusiasm for new beginnings, usually set overly ambitious expectations that are pretty much doomed from the start.

And for me anyway, I had to be honest with myself that as worthy as my resolutions usually seemed, I usually made them because they seemed good things to do, or some expert recommended them.

So, this year, I’ve tried to let all that go and really listen to my heart; asking God to guide me with love and grace. That has been a challenge, but over time a few things have bubbled up from a place deep within that feel organic and honest. I’m calling them intentions. I like that word because it honors the distinction between grace-filled nudges I’m aligning my heart to and arbitrary goals/objectives to be sweated and stewed over. These intentions bring me closer to God and as such feel more compelling and life-giving than any resolutions ever did.

          The biggest one that has emerged is a renewed focus and determination to finish writing the first draft of my novel by the end of the year. 2024 will be the tenth anniversary of its birth and over the years it has grown, deepened, taken root by fits and starts. The time seems right. My creative energy is higher than it has been. I am part of a writing community I trust for support and accountability. It’s time.

           I also have discovered energy for my newly hatched blog, something I never expected. Keeping a blog going will be a challenge, not to mention dealing with the level of technology involved. I’m not exactly sure what it wants to be, but that’s okay. I’m curious and eager to find out! The time seems right for me to tackle something like this and it feels good. Stay tuned as the next blog post will introduce my husband, Ken, as we have some fun and share our thoughts on the deep meaning of “Do unto others”.

          Hiking is very much on my heart and mind, and I can’t wait to hit the trail! How I miss the fresh air, sunshine, and the energy of physical movement. Of course, that means I need to find ways of getting out of winter hibernation mode and getting the exercise I need so as to be fit come spring. The later statement, by the way seems way more compelling than my default resolution of “go to the gym every day.”

          To welcome and honor these intentions, I am learning it is necessary to let go of a lot more things than I ever expected. What surprised me is the more I reflected on these intentions, the more I became aware of old habits, attitudes, assumptions as well as spiritual, emotional, and material clutter that are clearly holding me back. But again, instead of seeing these things as the fodder for resolutions, I see them simply as part and parcel of moving wholeheartedly towards the new. I pray I may have the grace to do the hard work of letting go.

          The reassuring thing about intentions is that at least for me, they invite much closer, deeper contemplation. I am being drawn to keep listening to God working within me. I want to offer to God the joys and frustrations as I work with all the facets of these intentions each day. God’s love is in and through it all. I give thanks for the blessings and abundance I encounter each day and ask for God’s compassionate guidance to lead me through the hard parts.

          My prayer for all of you is that as we begin this New Year, you may be blessed with compelling heart-nudges – divine sparks of energy illuminating the path God is leading inviting you to walk. May you graciously respond to these holy invitations. And may this year bring you delight in unexpected joys, deep peace on the most difficult days and above all, deepening awareness of God’s loving presence in all things.