New Year's Eve whizzed by in a display of fireworks like I've never seen before. No, I wasn't in Times Square, but in a small beach town, Tonsupa, Ecuador along the Pacific Ocean. Tradition there holds that if you wear white and bathe in the ocean at midnight, you will have good luck. So the shoreline was spirinkled with families and photographers capturing the unusual moment. It gave me pause to think about our traditions as Americans and what New Year's resoultions I would make.
So far I have made few. The standard: to lose weight, write more, go to bed earlier, but what about spiritual renewal? Will I make time for this? Several months ago I purchased a weighty book: Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner. I forgot I had bought it for this very reason--to start a new journey in 2012. It has proven to be a fascinating adventure as it's author offers insight into Greek meanings of words as it releates to scripture. It has helped me to understand verses that I have long puzzled over or just skimmed the surface of understanding.
This got me thinking about spiritual vitality and newness. If we don't take the time to stop and see things fresh and new, or try to understand more deeply, we will miss out not only on life's simple pleasures, but spiritual treasures.Take a much heard commandment like "Love your enemy. Do good to those who harm you." If we just hear that and don't put it into practice we will be bored with the same old, same old. Yet, with fresh vision and hearing this could transform the landscape of our workplaces, our highways and our homes! Imagine actually trying to love, to be kind and considerate to the nagging boss or spouse, the rude and selfish driver or the bratty adolescent. (Just a note: love doesn't always mean giving into. Sometimes it means spending time with and correcting.)
So my New Year's resolutions this year will be different. I will not list just the same olds, but seek to see things a fresh, to deeper understand the great truths about God: His mercy, love, forgivenss and grace in a fresh, new way. I will seek to look at others differently, to more appreciative and thankful and complain less when things don't go my way. I will not resolve in my own strength, which runs out about mid-February or Januray 2nd, but I will open myself up to the grace of God to give me the power I need to live in this darkened world as a beam of light.Will you join me?
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