Editor’s Excerpt: The Only New Year’s Resolution You Need
Wow, where did this year go?!
It seems hardly believable that we are at the end of 2021, but here we are! January looms close, and if you’re like me, you enjoy making a fresh start. I always take the time at the end of each year to reflect on myself and take an honest self-inventory. Amid all the successes and inevitable failures, I pray for wisdom to see the path forward, to honoring God, others, and myself. When I think about where I want to be in the coming year, I consider what steps I need to take to get from where I am today to where I want to be. Then, I fashion my “New Year’s Resolutions” after those steps.
Looking back, I find myself in a place where the past two years have been a hot mess! I don’t think it matters where you are in the cultural arguments and political side-taking; we all agree the past two years have tried us all in ways we never thought would happen. I feel like it tested the fiber of my being to see what I am really made of. Some things I have enjoyed seeing and applauded the way I found myself rising to the occasion. Some things I could have done without. We are not always proud of our own responses.
As I stripped my soul bare in front of the mirror, I prayed for wisdom to make this coming year count. I just want things to be better, Jesus. Easier. How can I live within the confines of your grace in the coming year?
The answer was just as strong, calm, and steady as I know the voice of my Jesus to be: “Be kind.”
The past two years have been full of pain and heartache, frustration, and disappointment for so many. Kindness is not always the answer; Jesus did flip tables. But, in the face of sorrow and pain, it is so important to be kind. If you don’t know what to do or say, be kind. If you’re frustrated with someone, be kind. Especially if you’re frustrated with yourself, be kind.
Maybe the only resolution we need this year is to be kind–kind to others and kind to ourselves. I think that will help us figure out the rest of it as we walk through this new year.
Thankful for our great seminary. Continue to train and bless your many students, Don Mueller