By AARON CHARLES
The calendar has turned to January. Time for resolutions. And time for think pieces about why resolutions should be renamed “intentions” or something like that. I’m not here to do that to you. We aren’t robots and our ability to produce and improve are not the only grades we need to make. It’s easy to get those messages seared into our brains but I’m not sure they quite fit.
So what are you supposed to do with your January then?
Well, you’re free to do exactly what you want. Maybe resolutions work for you. They’ve never been great for me. I always look forward to December, actually. That’s the time when I review the previous year and take stock of things. Then everything is back to zero in January. The clock starts again, and it can be a bit daunting.
At this point, let me direct you to Philippians 4:7.
It is in this verse that Paul writes words that have often been repeated. I wonder, though, how often they are taken to heart…myself included.
“And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
How often do you look around yourself and feel or see peace? Do blank to-do lists and talk of resolutions make you feel peaceful?
And yet that peace is still there – accessible to every follower of Christ.
As I sit here and write this blog post tonight, I find peace in not feeling like I have to control my life down to the second. Not having to squeeze every last ounce of productivity out. I don’t think that’s the same thing as being lazy, but even the fact that the thought creeps into my mind might signify that “hustle culture” hasn’t always given us its best.
There are so many things I want to do. But I think now is a great time for reflecting and looking forward. Making time for both. It is in observing where we’ve been and where we’re going that we might actually be able to find some commonalities. Some themes, if you will.
Hear me out, I’m not trying to switch resolutions out for themes. I’m not trying to dictate that process to you. I’m more processing where I’m at today. If you like it, feel free to run with it. If you don’t, it’s no skin off my back and I sincerely take absolutely no offense.
I just think I want to start trusting that God truly means what He says about peace. And I don’t tend to find much peace in trying to make myself do more.
That’s why I really like the discussion we had about themes in our teaser for Season 2 of We All Need Each Other. I think all the themes we discussed have some through-lines in the conversations that popped up in Season 1, but I think they also signify a bit of where we’re going.
I guess what I’m saying is that I’m in process. You’re in process. We all are. That’s okay. We don’t have to have it all planned out. But I think we should be looking for where we might be going. And we might be able to find some cues from where we’ve been.
That’s what I’ve got for today, but I’m looking forward to what I might have tomorrow.