What Can Happen in a Year… Eric Case
The beginning of a new year is a great time for me. I think at our core, we are “rhythmic” and seasonal creatures: it’s the way God designed the world, and we do well when we embrace this approach to living. Here are a few ways that I lean into this:
- Each year, I buy a new journal, whether or not the old one is filled. This helps me commit to the idea of, “no matter what has gone before, good or bad, this is a new year, a new season, and anything can happen.” It’s also helpful over the long run to be able to have particular years associated with particular journals.
- I write the goals I have for that particular year on the first page of that journal. Vaguely, I come up with these ideas based on a particular question: God, what do you want to be true of me at the end of this next year? Some of these answers are tangible things while others are quite spiritual. I’ll also glance through the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 and think of any of those particular characteristics that are lacking in my life and add that in. I try to keep the list long enough to trigger some “healthy ambition”, but short enough for it to remain achievable, usually about 10-12 major items.
Throughout the year, I track my progress against these goals, and at the end of the year I evaluate. Usually on New Years’ Day, I flip back through the old journal and think about the goals I had set. The fact is, usually I don’t achieve all of them, but the bottom line is that they focus my life throughout the year. In the past couple of years I have drastically changed my prayer life, as well as developed some tangible ministry ideas through this year-end focus and goal-setting.
God has given us a time as a gift—both to work out our salvation through growth and to work on His mission of redeeming the entire Creation. Marking the passage of time and using it to focus and target our growth is one of the most helpful things that we can do has human beings and as God’s family.
