C'mon, you know you feel the same way... resolutions are just another way to make you feel like you are once again falling short of that self-conceived perfection that you can never live up to. I wake up in the morning already feeling like I am behind... and I go to bed pretending that the things I failed to accomplish during the day don't really bother me. Truth is... I am in a rat race with my own heart... and I can't seem to find the cheese.
Will this year be the one where I feel satisfied? Will this year be the one that everything comes together and I become the perfect husband, father, son, employee and friend? Will this be the year that I discover the cure for cancer and how to make Little Debbie Swiss Rolls as nutritious as broccoli? I have this nagging feeling that I must prove that I belong and am worth bothering with by the magnitude of my accomplishments... isn't that the record playing in the back of all of our minds? Performance equals love and acceptance?
We all live in this constant state of fearing failure and being rejected... and it is keeping us stressed and uptight and ironically... isolated. What if this year I try not to fixate on striving for perfection and as a by-product become a little bit better? Maybe if I give myself and others a little more grace, we could see some amazing things happen this year. By drinking at the fountain of Grace, I may stop being so self-absorbed and have the heart to say an encouraging word to you at the right time which may give you the courage to paint a new picture or love your family better. Or I may take a risk and step away from the computer and go sit and talk with my kids about something that matters... or something totally gross and useless but just as important. Perhaps we can be a little more alive and a little more full of love this year. That would be cool. Remind me that life is more about relationships and less about conquering... I want to win hearts... not arguments.
I hope this year is more about joy and less about fear... will you help me with this journey? Let us drink deeply of this thing called grace and pass it out freely to ourselves and those around us. Cheers!