Oops, I did it again. I’ve already failed at my new year’s resolution. Most years, I make resolutions. My resolutions are the usual suspects: weight loss, exercise, read more books (for information, not just pleasure), etc. 2019 is similar to most other new years for me. I plan to lose at minimum the weight gained between October and December, read for personal development, but this year I added a different resolution. I want to take more pictures. I want to mark the experiences my family has so for years to come we can look back and reminisce about all the good times we had as they’ve grown up. This seems like a reasonable goal, right? Well, it’s January 5. My family took a mini-vacation to Florida. We went to Universal, the Mall at Millenia, and visited with family. Any idea how many pictures I took? 3. I took 3 whole pictures in 5 days. My resolution is off to a great start.
A few days ago, before the dawn of 2019, our oldest girl was poking fun at all of the social media posts about “new year, new you”. They are all over this time of year advertising things from weight loss products to organizational items to time management products. So, she coined the phrase “new year, same me”. This sparked a thought for me. A new year is meaningless. Just because the calendar now reads 2019 that changes nothing in me. I am still who I was. I still have the same habits. I still have the same job. I still have the same family. I still have the same stress. I still have the same friends. I still have the same God.
My family went through some major changes in 2018 and in 2017. Change has been our middle name for a while. Yet, God remains the same. He is unchanging and he is faithful. The Old Testament book of Malachi tells us, “For I am the Lord God, I change not”. How thankful I am that He doesn’t start every year or month or every Monday with the thought of “new day, new me.” He is unchanging. He is reliable. He is unwavering. He is steady. He is God.
There’s security in knowing who God is and knowing who I am in him. He can produce change in me that I never can. He can be unwavering in who he is while he is changing me to be like him. I’m still going to pursue my health goals for this year and my resolution to take more pictures. However, it’s not a new year, new me mentality. I want to rest in the stability of who God is and hold on to him through every change and know that he is working in me and that he is working all circumstances for my good.
