It is the beginning of the year, and everyone seems to be making resolutions. It is the same thing every year. We decide to lose weight. We decide to save more money. We decide to go back to school. We decide to buy a nicer car. We decide to be a better person. But for most of us, by the end of January, we have already failed miserably at whatever we “decided” to do better.
For me, I set out with good intentions, but looking at a full 12-month calendar is so daunting. It is overwhelming and I set myself up for failure. Sometimes looking at the big picture is a big mistake. Instead, we should not think about what can happen in a month or in a year. We should just focus on the 24 hours right in front of us. We should focus on what we can do in that one day to be closer to where we want to be.
None of us are promised tomorrow. We only have today to make it the best day possible. So, if you knew you only had the 24 hours in front of you, how would you approach each day. I know I wouldn’t put off telling the people around me what they mean to me. I know that I would eat food that will fuel my body and make me feel healthy. I wouldn’t let the small things of life make me angry. With only 24 hours ahead of you, does it really matter if you get upset with someone that doesn’t immediately go when the light turns green? I think that we would find that worrying about the mundane parts of life wouldn’t matter.
The Bible tells us to focus on the tasks right in front of us. The end of Matthew chapter 6 tells us to not worry about our life. “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?…Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?…So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
So, this year, I don’t have a resolution other than focusing on the day in front of me and striving to be the best me for that one day. I want to truly be present for each day given to me. God’s words really ring true, tomorrow has enough worries of its own. Taking away the burden of worrying about tomorrow and things out of my control should offer a chance for peace, a chance to breath and enjoy the things around me.
I encourage you to truly focus on what is in front of you. Focus on the family around you. Let God take the burden of worry from you. He will worry about tomorrow and make sure you are well taken care of. Matthew 7:7-11, tells us that God, our Father, will take care of all our needs. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
This weeks’ recipe is a delicious, crunchy salad to help knock out all the candies we’ve been enjoying over the holidays. I know I am craving something fresh and healthy. Something to make me feel light and
refreshed. My family loves this salad on its own or paired with a delicious piece of grilled chicken or fish. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22
December 20, 2024
