New Year, Less Me

I just came inside after shoveling about 8 inches of snow from off of my front porch. It’s been falling all day and something about it’s steadiness comforts me. While I shoveled, our next door neighbor came out to say hello, a steaming beverage in his hand. After I finished, I brushed off all the snow that had collected on my coat, pounded my feet on our welcome mat, unlaced the gray blue Sorrels I’ve had since I was 12, and put some water on to boil. My nose was still red from the cold Winter air and my heart was full of a quiet inspiration, so I opened my laptop to write as I waited for the whistle of the Le Creuset tea kettle my Mother got me for Christmas.

It is January.

The past few months have gone by in a blur so it’s hard for me to believe that it’s actually here. 2022. The New Year.

Some people have been thinking ahead to the New Year for weeks. And maybe you’re one of those people. Planning trips. Scheduling appointments. Thinking of goals. Writing out resolutions.

I’ve been that person before.

But not this year.

This year I felt a hesitancy when it came to making goals and resolutions.

And maybe you’ve felt a hesitancy too.

It’s not that I don’t believe in setting intentions for the year.
On the contrary, I think it can be an incredibly helpful practice for personal growth.

But after seeing post after post of peoples New Years goals and listening to podcasts and reading articles all about making resolutions, instead of feeling inspired or excited about 2022, I just feel a strange pressure to think of something specific I should do or achieve.

Maybe you feel that way too.

I was pondering all this as I poured myself a cup of tea into the mug my husband got me for Christmas. He’s working tonight and as cheesy as it sounds, I miss him- even though he’s only been gone for a day.

And that’s when it hit me.

Maybe the hesitancy many of us are feeling regarding New Years resolutions is really an emptiness that we feel…. An emptiness akin to the emptiness we feel when someone we love is gone and the home we share with them is missing their laughter.

Because usually more often that not, New Years resolutions are devoid of one thing: They are devoid of other people.

I can’t tell you how many times over the last few weeks I’ve seen or heard the phrase-
“New year! New me!”

I want to make MY life better. I want to work on MY health. I want to be more successful in MY job. I want to achieve MY dreams.

Me, me me…

But true joy and satisfaction doesn’t come from seeking to save your life. True joy and satisfaction comes from losing your life for others. (Matthew 16:25)

When Jesus came to the Earth, he didn’t come with his own personal agenda or goals for self improvement. He came to do the will of the Father who sent him.

As Mark 10:45 tells us,
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Christ was not selfish, but sacrificial.
And so should we be.
In the New Year, and beyond.

So as I finish my cup of tea and as we finish this first week of 2022, don’t feel bad if you were hesitant to make New Years goals this year. Many of them can be distractions, labeled as resolutions.

But don’t feel bad if you DID make them either.

Just don’t let them be devoid of what truly matters:
Don’t let them be devoid of others.

This year, lets follow the example of Jesus, and serve the people in our lives better. Let’s work on building each other up instead of working on only ourselves. Let’s seek to love our family and friends even more than we seek to be loved.

John 3:30 says,
“He must become greater-I must become less.”

That kind of attitude is foreign in our society.

We live in time where people will push past
whatever and whoever might be standing in their way,
all the while shouting-
“New year! New me!”
Instead, we should be lifting our heads to heaven,
and reaching out to the people around us in love, saying-
“New year; less me.”