At our house, we don’t set New Year’s Resolutions. Does anyone enjoy making lists of chores you didn’t want to do last year but begrudgingly acknowledge that you ought to do in the next one? Not this guy. I don’t want a list on the fridge that tells me to eat right or exercise more. It may as well read “have less fun”.
Every year I hand out forms to everyone in the family for New Year’s Goals. At first glance, it seems like the same thing, but it is very different. When we set goals, we focus on our dreams and write down our biggest wishes for the next year. Basically, we are asking “If I can have anything next year, what would it be?”
It’s a lot more fun.
This morning, I began searching through my cloud storage for the Goals template to print for Kim and me, then to email to Erin and James. I never found it, but I did find an old version from 2013, which I opened and printed. It would be easy enough to wipe out the old entries and write down new ones.
Instead, I spent the morning reflecting on the times and my family eight years ago.
Many of my personal goals centered around my increasing interest in local missions. My heart longed to use the skills that God gave me to serve the needs of people in my community. Unfortunately the future of the fledgling First Fruits ministry was uncertain, so I hoped that my church would establish a program. The various goals included:
* Work in Local Missions at VCC as it evolves
* Develop leaders for other groups/events
Kim was in the midst of difficult years in raising kids. We had a 15- and a 12-year-old. They seemed intent on gaining all the liberties of being “grown-up” without sacrificing the freedoms of being a childhood. It was hard on her. Her heart yearned to grow closer to children who were pushing her away while she tried to prepare them with basic life skills. She added:
* Assign kids a “cooking day”
* Plan one-on-one outings with each family member monthly
At fifteen years old, Erin was in a bit all over the place. However, she found joy making things with her hands that could be enjoyed by people. She listed goals that broadened her talents while connecting with people. They included:
* Learn to knit
* Work with Oak Tree Apartments (Kim led an after-school ministry program there)
James has always been the audacious dreamer. His goals were seldom realistic and infrequently achieved. He yearned to find his place and be strong, but also to soothe the angst that was growing inside him. Despite his total lack of musical experience and an awkward pre-pubescent physique, he determined to:
* Learn to play 10 songs on the guitar
* Play Football, Cross Country, Track, and Basketball
When the following December rolled around, I checked our progress only to find that we had accomplished virtually none of our goals.
As soon as 2013 started, our lives unexpectedly had taken a different direction. Kim’s dad, who was living with us and battling cancer, passed away in March. Our own poor decisions landed us in court off-and-on throughout the year. In meetings with church staff, they advised me they were not going to focus on local ministry at that time. James joined a basketball team that went 0-11, then decided team sports were boring.
Although our goals were not met, the seeds of our dreams had been planted. We had opened our hearts to our Lord and asked him for help. Eight years later it is obvious that God was not only listening but he had put plans in place to give us more than we asked for.
In the coming years, First Fruits expanded into everything I had asked God for someone else to start. Leaders emerged that I had not even met yet, and they went on to lead the ministry that our church established years later. Our city has become a better reflection of the eternal kingdom.
The kids never cooked dinner regularly, but Kim raised a family that loves well, helps each other, and takes responsibility. They are the next generation of our country, and she has faith in them. They are growing beyond her hopes in ways she could not see as an exasperated mom.
Erin moved into the Oak Tree Apartments complex where she had bonded with children almost a decade earlier. She is the family’s “crafty one” who builds treasures out of the mundane. The work she hoped to do with her hands has literally blossomed as she adorns her balcony with beautiful plants that her neighbors rush to copy. She makes a career bringing beauty into people’s lives, centered in the same spot she served God those many years ago.
James grew from the awkward kid into a powerful man. He set aside sports to focus on wellness and will graduate this year from UT Austin with a B.S. in Kinesiology and Health Education. He is discovering his own path. His destiny is so much larger than the audacious dreams he had as a child. But when the sadness of life weighs heavily on his soul, he finds comfort by playing his guitar and softly singing along. God grants him peace in a personal way that his lips could never have found the words to request.
Although most of our goals were not realized, He had been focused on our hearts’ desires. While we were busy planning our paths, God was guiding our steps into something much better.
The new year isn’t about committing to burdensome resolutions. It’s not even about achieving arbitrary goals.
The dawn of the new year is a time to dream. In the quiet moments before regular life resumes, it is a chance to contemplate a future that will exceed any image we have conceived before. Like Christmas is a time for children to sit in Santa’s lap and tell him what they want, New Year’s is our chance to relax with the Father and weave fantasies that only He can breathe into existence.
God has given everything so that we can have an abundant life (John 10:10). He has not only promised us hope and a future (Jer 29:11), but he guarantees us anything that we ask in His name (John 16:23).
If we can have whatever we dream, why do we spend so little time imagining? Why do we tend to limit our prayers to small items that model a future after a slightly improved present?
A list from 2013 revealed to me that He has been at work in our lives. Although we didn’t always get specifically what we asked for, he nurtured the spirit that had motivated the requests. That is His way.
On this New Year’s Eve, I won’t be able to gather with friends and wonder how late I can stay awake. My hopes for the future will exceed a previous year that is five pounds lighter. Instead, I will take time with Kim to envision impossibly fantastic ambitions. We will ask for supernatural blessings that no one else could provide.
Let’s give God the chance to demonstrate how truly powerful and loving He really is. What father wouldn’t relish the opportunity to grant the wishes of his child?
When we are finished conjuring images of remarkable days to come, we will write down a single step we can take in faith, believing that He will fulfill those dreams.
That is what a New Year’s Goal is to me.
In another eight years, who knows what fruit these seeds will yield?
👍