New Year’s
Resolutions for the Soul
It’s time for making new resolutions, or old resolutions if
we haven’t fulfilled last year’s or the year before that or the year before
that…
Most resolutions are trendy, such
as buying a new house, getting out of debt, starting college and of course one
of the most popular in the
United
States – losing weight!
That last one’s a toughie.
I no longer even count it as a New Year’s
Resolution because for me it’s more like a perpetual diet.
New Year’s Resolutions offer us a fresh start. Many people get excited about making
improvements in their lives and the motivation of a new beginning helps
thousands reach goals that have become stagnant.
Speaking of getting stagnant, how’s your spiritual
health? Have you made any plans for
improving your relationship with God?
Let’s face it, looking good in skinny jeans and driving a new car make
us feel good, but the area in all our lives that needs the most improvement is
our spiritual development. If you are
already a devout Christian it will be pretty easy for you to think up ways to
get closer to God. The most obvious are
more prayer, listening to God, fasting, reading Scripture and other Christian
literature, and charity work. For those of
you who have mostly or even completely neglected this aspect of your life,
coming up with a plan to move closer to God might be more of a challenge. You’re rusty, after all, and getting started
is often the hardest part.
Once you decide to improve spiritually, you’ve already
started. Congratulations! It’s the very
first step in a number of small steps throughout the year and beyond. Your job is to find small actions that will
lead you to God and build on them.
Unless you have an all-or-nothing personality, don’t attempt hard-core
leaps out of the gate. Instead, find
something manageable, and when you have that down move on to another small step. Spiritual development is very much like
dropping 30 lbs. Most people give up at
the gym after two or three months because after starting all gung-ho they
quickly burn out. If you haven’t
exercised in years attempting a five mile run on week two is likely to result
in, at best, an exhausted body necessitating a week off before you can
begrudgingly lace your running shoes back up, if you ever get to it. Next thing you know you’re back to your old
life where walking from your car to the office is about the most exercise you
experience on a daily basis.
You don’t want to go all-out in one giant blast of
enthusiasm just to fall back into saying a quick prayer now and again that God
will help you find a sale for those shoes you’ve been eyeing.
So what can you do to improve upon a sedentary or
nonexistent spiritual life? Let’s start
with five easy but critical steps to a close relationship with God:
- If
you do not pray at all, start.
Try any type of prayer at first whenever it best suits you. Once you get the hang of that, try
praying deeper. Extend it from the
laundry list of things you want God to do for you and those you care about
to thanking God for prayers answered as well as those things we take for
granted (i.e. good health, plentiful food, family, God’s love and constant
companionship, etc.). If you’re not
sure what to say, recite the Lord’s Prayer. You might obtain a book with prayers you
can pray. We can always be deeper
when it comes to prayer. Eventually
you will want to ask God for help in avoiding temptations, particularly
those you struggle with the most. Seek God’s help in everyday matters such
as fidelity to your duties, making decisions, expressing kindness and
obedience to God’s Commandments.
Once you’re really in shape in the prayer department, it’s time to
pray for those you do not like, people who have wronged you and those who
annoy you.
- Read
Scripture. The beauty of this
is that you can read at your own pace.
God isn’t standing over you with a hammer waiting to smack you if
you don’t read a certain amount each day.
You can set goals for yourself if it will help you stick to it, but
you can also read the amount you have time for and what you can
contemplate on any given day, depending on the amount of energy you have
and the state of mind you’re in.
- Find
other things to read that will help you move ahead spiritually. For those of you who like fiction, there
are many novels with Christian messages that you will be able to relate
to. For instance, the now famous Fireproof is about a troubled
marriage. Look for books that
address issues you are dealing with. For those who are more direct and like to
obtain information, there are a ton of great books that explain different
parts of the Bible, situations you might find yourself in and how to
handle them in ways pleasing to God that will also help you with the
situation at hand. There are entire
books written about how to get closer to God. Be sure to find books and columns you
can relate to. There’s so much
written about Christianity, no matter where you are in your faith there is
something out there for you. If you
are extremely busy with work and family and don’t have much time to read,
weekly or daily columns might be your best bet. If you are an intellectual you are
obviously going to want something written in a way that you enjoy. Some of us prefer material that’s
helpful in a “down-to-earth” sort of way.
Seek out what works for you.
Trust me, it’s there.
- Ask
questions. When I was planning
to convert to Catholicism I had a zillion questions! Some people have a gift for explaining
confusing topics in a clear way. If
you don’t know anyone, drop me a line.
It would be my pleasure to help you better understand your faith. If I can’t help you I’ll be the first to
admit it and will try to refer you to a book, website or forum that can.
- Attend
Mass or a Christian service.
This is a must for practicing Catholics but if you have not been
attending Mass, don’t beat yourself up.
Just go to confession and get back into the swing of it. For non-Catholics, start out by finding
a church you like. The service
should make you think and offer a good way to worship God. Even if you don’t go every Sunday at first,
try to go at least some of the time.
Some ministers are very well learned and they should be able to
help you develop spiritually. You
may even meet others who will inspire you and, assuming you have a good attitude,
you will inspire others by the way you worship.
These are small, easy steps that do not require a lot of
your time, money or energy.
This is a
good way to start a Spiritual New Year’s Resolution.
And like exercise for the body, the more
spiritually “in shape” you get the healthier your soul will be.
In the long-run what you look like on earth,
your house, your car, how much money you make won’t matter in the least.
But the shape your soul is in when you leave
this world is going to matter.
And it
will matter for eternity.
So take good
care of it, my friends.
Remember to put
God first and others before yourself.
That is the ultimate challenge and the steps above will help you get
started.
