Archive for New Year's Resolutions
The Day My Clothes Spoke to Me
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A new year. A new opportunity. A new day. A new beginning. Ah, the inspiration of it!
I spent part of New Year’s Eve cleaning out my clothes’ closet. I took everything out of my closet and laid the stuff in stacks around my room. Then I began. Toss. Keep. Give away. Store in a different place. Reorganize. Somehow the arrival of the New Year beckoned me to start over again. To think in new ways. To look for new strategies.
Magazine articles about decluttering and organization called to me.
I was in a ruthless mood. If I didn’t love it, it went no matter how much I wondered if it might come back into style in a year or if it might fit me better later.
The process became spiritual.
I picked up a blouse. I thought of my mother and her changing memory. The blouse represented a shopping trip we’d had. I felt saddened and a deeper realization of my time with her changing as she ages.
A dress touched my memory of days gone by and folks I love who I don’t really see anymore. Tears filled my eyes as I allowed the memory to fill my heart.
Another outfit took me back to a season of my life. Ah, those were good days.
The blouse I would wear for my anniversary this week. More smiles.
Ah, there was that item that needs hemming and one that needs a button.
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Remember, Reflect, Refocus, Resolve: Preparing for the New Year
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My heart is filled with a quiet anticipation and traces of ambivalence. Another year is ending; a new one beginning. The very passage into a new year carries an innate sense of need to evaluate oneself. This self-evaluation, if done in truth, brings one face to face with the depths of one’s own depravity and the heights of one’s own glory for both are true of the human heart and life.
The end of the year beckons us to remember. What have we done well this year? Where have we gained ground? Have we grown spiritually, emotionally, and mentally? Where have we failed? Missed the mark? Wasted the treasure of life?
True reflection on one’s life can be painful, especially when we must admit that we didn’t keep any of those 2011 New Year’s Resolutions! Yet the purpose of our reflection is to refocus not to condemn.
How can we see and hear more clearly what God is saying to us at the end of a year?
While typical New Year’s Resolutions are things like spend more time with my family, organize more, lose weight, spend less money, etc., the commonality seems to be this need to refocus our lives.
How do we refocus our lives?
Intentional introspection requires a quiet spirit submitting to the voice of God who will lead us to remember, reflect, refocus, and resolve.
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