Are you knee deep in resolutions? Have you scrapped them already? Hiding your head in the sand, waiting for the first week of the year to be over and all this talk about change with it?
I'm not big on resolutions, mostly because I've never been good at keeping them. There's something depressing about setting lofty goals and never seeing them come to fruition. It only serves to make me feel like more of a failure. And I don't need that!
Yet as I look over my life, I DO see some improvement. How? Somewhere along the way God got through to me in different areas. As I search for an explanation I realize one thing is true about any metamorphosis.
It doesn't happen overnight.
My love of T.V. didn't vanish instantly one January. I didn't suddenly develop a love for the gym. My patience level has never significantly risen at the start of a new year. I didn't become a better wife, mother, friend in two weeks time.
I can't lose twenty pounds in a day, a week, or even a month and expect it to last. I can't say I'll keep my closets sparkling clean, but only attend them once a year. I can't exercise really hard in January, but do nothing the rest of the year and think I'll reap benefits.
It doesn't happen overnight.
Lasting change comes with daily, consistent choices. I can't wait for inspiration to hit. I have to choose THIS day the right way to go. Then tomorrow, I have to choose again and the next day and the next. The change has to occur forever, not just for a few weeks at the beginning of a new year. In order for that to happen, I may have to ask myself what I'm willing to give up for real change to take place.
Ouch. I know, right?! This is tough! I don't want to give anything up. I know how fickle I am. I look for an easy way out and take it at first chance. But if I want to reach any kind of resolution, I have to prepare myself for a process.
It doesn't happen overnight.
It takes supernatural help, which is why my word for the year (along with TRUST) is SEEK. If I'm not seeking God I'll never be able to make choosing wisely a habit in any area of my life.
It doesn't happen overnight.
It starts every day, every moment with a choice. It's all about being consistent, faithful, committed.
It doesn't happen overnight.
Will this be your year to kick a bad habit or start a good one? Can you put forth effort for the long haul? Are you willing to give something up to make it happen? Will you commit yourself to seeking after the only One who can help you do it?
It doesn't happen overnight.
Photo Credit: jeff_golden
2 comments:
Tami,
What a good post! And isn't it strange that while nothing really worthwhile in our lives is ever achieved "overnight" - many bad things can sometimes hit just like that - in a moment of time - and our lives are changed forever.
I believe that one reason God builds us to have to make positive change through conscious, repeated, sometimes gureling effort, is so that when the tough stuff hits - we have developed the resiliance to withstand the trial and still thank God for who He is.
Thank you for such a thoughtful post - and for stopping by Spots and Wrinkles recently. God bless - Marsha Y.
Interesting observation Marsha. Great insight.
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