In 2005, my father resolved to “work less and sleep more.”
Lest you think him lazy, let me first inform you that 60-80 hour weeks have been the norm for his last 25 years at his job, during which time he also had undiagnosed sleep apnea. He has a lot of sleep to catch up on after a quarter-century of tiredness, and lessening his work load would still mean he works more hours than the average working man.
When I told my father I had laughed at his resolution, he told me that it was much easier to make resolutions and keep them if they were realistic. He said that vowing to lose 25 pounds is much less practical than vowing to gain 10, as is vowing to read more than vowing to watch more movies {for most people, at least}. I confess he has a point, in the sense that resolutions that are in line with what we truly wish to do are more likely to materialize.
And so Si and I found ourselves discussing 2006 last night during our very private toast {which, by the way, can be credited to the cancellation of our New Year’s Party due to our family coming down with the flu on the 30th}. We first marvelled a bit at 2005. A daughter born in February. A son {3-years-old at the time} telling us that he wants to “follow Jesus all of my life.” 2005 was a year of tremendous growth for our family in many ways, and we feel quite blessed by God.
So what did we toast to last night? Siah began to toast to “new life” and I questioned whether he thought I would be pregnant again this coming year. He quickly changed the toast to “growth.” I had to smile. As much as he adores his children, the thought of a new one always puts him a bit on edge. He surely feels the burden of providing for us all, sometimes more than he should.
My personal resolution is a bit more specific. I want to grow {to use our word for the year} in my submission to Christ. I feel like God has taught me much this year, more than I ever expected. And I want, more than all else, to be faithful in what I have learned.
I had promised God when I became a Christian that He would never again have to deal with my disobedience {ignorance, perhaps, but not disobedience}. I asked only that He would make His will for my life very clear so that I wouldn’t misunderstand it. His Word said it for me: “Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I’ll wholeheartedly obey. Make me walk along the right paths for I know how delightful they really are. Help me to prefer obedience to making money”{Psalm 119:33-36 TLB}. –Larry Burkett in Business By The Book
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