The Promise of a New Year

by Brooke McLaughlin Mitchell

Earlier today, a friend asked me if I had made my resolutions yet. I have to admit that I somewhat dismissively told her “no.” I guess that I could defend myself by pointing out that every spare minute that my toddler has been asleep for the past few days has been spent in furiously purging superfluous material from our home; car trunks are filled with items for donations, and trash cans and recycling receptacles are happily at the curb waiting to be emptied and refilled.

But if I am really honest, I have not yet made the requisite New Year’s resolutions because I find that they often set me up to fail. Of course, if I am even more honest, I will admit that I fail because I fail, not because of some silly resolution.

I have thought about them; really, I have. But I find myself in the too-comfortable place of “I want to lose weight and be more healthy.” I’ve even thought about more specific goals that should take place along the way toward meeting my ultimate, larger weight-loss goals. But the other resolutions are so much harder to face; they are harder to measure, and perhaps the stakes are even higher than my health.

The most important resolutions have to do with my family. Simply put, my husband and toddler son need more of me–more time, more grace, more organization and order. I need to make my home more of an oasis and less of a place that we all land before we take off again. I’ve been thinking a lot about the word “intentional,” and this is the way that I want our life and my participation in that life to be during 2013–and beyond. This is hard. This is hard for any woman. But I am a full-time working mother with a toddler who is only in part-time daycare. Believe me. This is hard! But it is doable, and I need to do it.

The other significant area that I need to resolve to better is spiritual. It is hard to really examine myself in terms of my relationship to God and how the parts of my life reflect it. More prayer, more Bible study are places to start here.

I know that experts say that the way for resolutions to work is that they are attainable and measurable. I have not yet figured out how to attain and measure my goals, but I do know that I need to figure it out, and fast. I am an older mother; I was 37 when my son was born. I never really worried about time passing before he came into my life, but now I am very aware of how quickly my life is passing. There is no time to waste.

So, what are your resolutions? How high are you willing to set the stakes? What do you have to gain if you can stick to them?

Good luck to you as you figure out the answers to these questions. I hope that we all experience a happy, healthy, blessed, and hopeful 2013!