Each January we hear about and are encouraged to come up with New Year’s resolutions. They’re almost always about the things we hate about ourselves, and they’re often culturally conditioned. We’re overweight, or we don’t exercise enough, or we’re not patient enough with friends and family. My suggestion is to skip the resolutions this year. Spend some time this January taking stock of your life in a different way. Make a list of the things you thought you’d have done by now, the things that weigh heavily on you, and talk with God about that list. If your list includes things that you don’t really care about, and you don’t sense God investing a lot of energy in them, let them go. Maybe the time isn’t right, or maybe you’re spending energy trying to fulfill other people’s dreams. But if there are things on your list that really grab you and you’re not pursuing them right now, make them part of your ongoing conversation with God. Those things that really have your attention may be clues to the place to which God calls you. Be open to creative ideas that might come your way, or to windows or doors that might open up. Try to be open to pathways you wouldn’t have anticipate as well; God is an expert at surprising us.

In the midst of my own crisis I discovered that I had been spending entirely too much energy focusing on myself, and that it was time to turn my attention outward a bit. I ended up becoming a youth leader as a result of my crisis, which was just about the last thing I would have expected. It was also one of the best adventures of my life, one it would have been a shame to miss.

Debra K. Farrington is a freelance writer, and the author of seven books of Christian spirituality, including The Seasons of a Restless Heart: A Spiritual Companion for Living in Transition.

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