On fresh starts

It's a new year. New start, new blog title, new resolutions...or goals...or adjustments...or whatever you decide to call them because calling them resolutions dooms them to failure by January 2nd.  Oh wait, it's January 4th?  Oops.

Here's what my year has looked like so far: By the end of the day on January 1st, I was starting to feel a little panic about all the things I was supposed to have started on, but hadn't yet.  But really, New Year's Day is a holiday, so if you don't get to your resolutions until the 2nd, that's okay, right? So by the end of the day on the 2nd, I was starting to really feel bad about myself. By the end of the day on the 3rd, I was starting to think I might as well write this whole year off as a failure because I'm already so behind, I'll never catch up. Welcome inside my head. It's a scary, scary place, right?

So today is the 4th. This morning I realized that every day is a fresh start. We don't always get a chance for a do-over, but we do get a clean slate. Every single day. Two verses come to mind that testify to this: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:23-24) and "Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." (Psalm 30:5). God, in His mercy and wisdom, gives us second chances with every new day, every new week, every new year. We are always one decision, one right action, one merciful word or repentant thought away from something new.

I want to make changes this year. I want to eat more vegetables, eat less...well, eat less. I want to lose a little weight, tone up my core, be more intentional about the way I use my time, finish my novel, blog more often, write a Bible Study, be a better Mary Kay Consultant, Tweet every day, improve my finances and my meal planning, and establish better daily habits. Looking back on that sentence, here's what I see: "I want...my...I..." Since when do I think this life is about what I want?

So, it may not be January 1st, but it's still a new year. I don't know what it's going to look like. I do have goals, desires, ideas for ways that I can improve, and I can decide right here to do my best. But ultimately, 2014 is not up to me. I trust God to write His story through me this year, and I'm looking forward to see what that looks like.

"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." (Isaiah 43:19)

So if you're like me and you have started this year out frustrated and overwhelmed, take a deep breath. Let it go. Thank God that tomorrow is a new day, and offer it back to Him. That's what I plan to do.

What do you plan to accomplish in 2014? Have you already been frustrated with yourself and your failures? Please tell me it's not just me!