In This New Year

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions.  I used to do it, but I never really gave it much thought.  I knew people would ask me about them so I treated resolutions like a white elephant gift exchange.  I just grabbed onto one, knowing I would never keep it and tucked it away to throw back in the pile next year.  Eventually, I stopped all together because it felt like lying.  Well, it was lying in my case as I had no intention of following through on the resolution.  Despite my disinterest in resolutions, however, yesterday I began to think about how the new year is such a great time for fresh starts.  Something about a blank, fresh calendar acts like a switch in my brain and makes me want to commit to doing something new. 

And there it was.  The word that had been missing from my New Year's vocabulary all along.  Commitment. That is a word I take seriously. I don't throw it around easily, but give any commitment great forethought and treat it as sacred once made.  Resolution is defined as a firm decision to do or not do something.  Commitment is defined as the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, person, activity, etc.  The resolution may be the deciding moment to head in a new direction, but it is the commitment that keeps you there.  Some fifteen years ago I decided to give my life to Christ, but the next step was committing myself to Him daily.  I decided that Maurice was the one for me, but when we got married, I committed the rest of my days to being his wife.  A commitment is solid, unwavering, and bigger than any obstacle that might come against it.  

In this new year, I'm making new commitments.  I'm praying through the things I need to work on to be a better believer, better model of Christ's word, better wife, and better mother.  I'm asking God to show me on which of these things I should focus. With His guidance, I will decide what my next commitment(s) will be and then I will do just that, commit.

What about you?  What are you committing to in this New Year?