New Year, Same God

It is a brand new year, and you know what that means! We all have a renewed sense of self and are ready to take on new adventures, fully confident in who we are and what we have become! …..of course I’m kidding. Most likely, we have all decided that this will finally be our year. We are going to make real changes this time. It’s allllllll going to be different.

Here is the thing about different. It’s not always good. Before you start listing all the ways in which you need to change to meet the new year, take a minute to list out the gifts and talents that the LORD has already given you. And maybe don’t do it thinking about how you see yourself, but rather how a friend might see you. Or better yet, how God might see you. If you think about His characteristics (patient, loving, kind, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love, forgiving, understanding, just to name a few) and then look at yourself through that lens, I bet you might actually like what you see.

Because once you look at yourself the way God might look at you, you start to see things that you never knew were there. Maybe even some characteristics that you might share with the LORD as you journey to be more Christ-like. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nurses have a lot of things in common with Christ, whether we know it or not. We are healers, we are compassionate, caring, empathetic, and kind (at least, hopefully we are. If not, it might be time for stress leave). But even just as people, we can cling to the fact that we don’t have to improve our very selves. We need to reflect the very self of God.

God has never changed. He never came up with New Years Resolutions. He has never had to prove anything to anybody. He has just been, always and forever. He is the author of salvation, the creator of the universe! If He created all things, He has set the precedent of perfection. And He has never asked us to strive. In fact, He sacrificed Himself for us out of nothing but love for us. Love for us as we are right here, right now. He doesn’t ask for resolutions. He won’t love you more if you lose 10 pounds, or finish that manuscript, or meditate twice a day, or diffuse enough essential oils to eradicate chest congestion from the tri-state area. He wants you as you are. Because that is enough. And once you realize that you don’t have to be more, you will start to take on the characteristics of Christ out of honour and gratitude to the Holy One. And all of a sudden every resolution will pale in comparison to the Glory of the King.