A brand-new calendar forces reflection on the passing of time yet also moves me toward new opportunities. As a Type A goal-setter, I am ready to consider 2024 and all its possibilities.
Image by GDJ / Pixabay
During my “senior” season, I am finished setting resolutions. No more of the usual “less sugar, lose some weight, and save more money” focus. Although I am being more intentional to watch my carbs, just because I want my brain to stay healthy.
This year, I want to dig deeper. Maybe it is the aging factor that forces me beyond the mere physical and into the extraordinary. Or maybe I have learned how empty some resolutions feel. I seek something with more impact. So I have decided to focus in two directions:
To Look for the Presence of God Each Day.
I know the Divine Three live inside me, but I also believe God moves mysteriously around me. During this new year, I want to be more aware of that Divine presence:
- In the energy of a crackling fire
- In the dancing eyes of children
- In the musical tones of nature’s breezes
- In the faces of strangers at coffee shops, the mall, and the lines at Wal-Mart
- In the perseverance of the disabled who refuse to be victims
- In the hugs of my son and his bride
- In the colors and textures of my world
- In the rhythm and meaning of words
When I intentionally seek the presence of God, I hope to discover spiritual truths in new ways. Being more aware of God’s personal steps in my world reminds me he is my constant companion.
To Listen for the Divine Whisper Each Day.
God wants to communicate with us. He is the Word, and he is consistent in his desire for relationship. But our world is so noisy, we often cannot hear what he longs to share with us.
I am fortunate my work involves silence for it is within solitude the Divine Whisper makes itself known. I write with no background music or white noise. Yet I can still miss the soft baritone of my Savior if I let distractions down him out.
This year I want to be more aware of his voice, to hear with an extraordinary sonic volume:
- When God gives direction or guidance
- When he reminds me to backtrack or fix something wronged
- When his creative whisper births an idea for a new book
- When he asks me to be still and know
- When he just wants to say, “I love you” or “I want to spend time with you.”
My goal for this year is to spend time each evening with a few moments of evaluation: How was the presence of God real that day? How did I hear God speak that day? How did God show up?
Maybe by next December, I will have developed a keener sense of the Divine Three in every area of my life. That goal gives me renewed hope.
©2024 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved
With a new year comes the opportunity to revise our goals. Check out Setting and Reaching Your Writing Goals. http://amzn.to/2sqtKsY
I recently wrote an essay titled, “The Gift of Life and the Role of Expectancy.” It came from an hour in my life that modified my thinking and beliefs, which to this day guides me in how I respond to God’s will. Life expectancy is not just a matter of years lived. It is a matter of how connected we are to our Maker and each other.
Yes indeed, Stu. Your last statement sums it all up so well – ‘How we are connected to our Maker and to each other.’
Instead of making a New Year’s resolution I choose a word for my birth year. For example, the year that I turned 74 I chose the word “equanimity”. I consider the meaning of the word as well as how to apply the word to my own life. Last year I chose the word creativity. For my 76th year I have chosen “grace.”
To end the year, I have my granddaughter, who is a tattoo artist, tattoo a symbol of the word. I know doing this is not for everyone, or maybe no one but me, but I love having the reminder.
I love how you honor your granddaughter by celebrating her creative gift as a tattoo artist and having a permanent reminder of your ‘word.’ ‘Grace’ is indeed a wonderful topic to be reminded of throughout 2024.