Moving Forward

It’s now time to get down to some serious resolution thinking for the coming year, but before we do that we need to have a glance over our shoulders to see where we came from, and what has happened to affect our lives. Everyone, without exception, can see the past. It can be pleasant, and a great memory maker which will be relived time and again in the future. Or it can be a year which we wish we could forget, and perhaps forever be painful. The common characteristic for both bad and good things which happen to us, is that they will never be fully forgotten, no matter how hard we try.

However, the past can also be used as a measure of what we could and should do in the future. The coming year doesn’t have to be a repeat of the past one. Even good years can be made better, with God’s help. Making our next year better than the last, needs God’s help even more to guide and help us make our best decisions. So, as we stand on the threshold of this coming year, we can make it better than where we stand now.

Making resolutions can be a repetitive thing, re-making last years’ hopes all over again, so why not be different this year and include God in your thinking? Ask for His help in deciding which changes are realistic, and can be achieved, and not just pipe dreams. Maybe some resolutions can be seen as a ‘wish list’ instead of those things we are prepared to work at to make happen. That’s where our faith, and the reality of our relationship with God comes in.

For me it comes down to a heart felt and sincere prayer for help to make the next year different and better than before, but only made possible with God as my helper. That sincere prayer will stop me from making silly resolutions I can’t possibly keep, and allow me to be a better person as I lean on my Saviour, who is after all, an all powerful source of help.

Happy New Year as you move forward into 2012!