A New Year

from Steal Like an Artist Calendar

It's a new year. A time when we often think about changes or new attitudes and habits. A few years ago I read about choosing one word for a yearly focus. I've been doing that for the past few years. I do have a word this year, one that sort of just became my word without a lot of pondering and praying. But that's not what I want to write about right now.

I sometimes choose goals for the year. Last year I read a lot about choosing goals for the year and then setting quarterly goals within the year to move toward completing your goals. I did that last year - setting goals, that is. I didn't meet them but I did progress on some things that I wanted to do.  I at least thought about them regularly as I read them and worked toward hitting my quarter marks. And I also knew when I made decisions that led to things other than those goals. (Which made me wonder if I really wanted to accomplish those things in 2017.) I set more goals for this year. Some the same as last year (or variations of them) and some completely different. But goals are not what I'm thinking about or what I want to be my total focus this year.

In the past I have sometimes chosen a Bible verse to be my focus for the year. Not every year but I've done that a few times. Sometimes a verse appears after I choose a word for the year or grows to be a focus after the first weeks of the year. This year, actually even before January started, I began thinking about a verse. It was a familiar verse. It was a timely verse, timely for me and my life. I turned to it and read it. I thought about it and repeated it. I wrote it down in various places. It came to mind at various times throughout the days and weeks.

So I decided to make this verse the focus on my year. The verse is Matthew 11:28. "Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

I feel weary and burdened. Some of that is related to the past couple of months and what has been happening with our family. Cindy's illness made me also feel weary and burdened. (I can only imagine how it makes her feel.) Lots of burdens have piled up in my mind as a result of it. I also feel burdened because my work has piled up a little - due to distraction and to difficulty just getting motivated. I feel burdened when I see my spiritual immaturity and lack of faith, when I doubt and when I choose myself over my Lord. I feel weary and burdened because of so many things.

This year I want to come to Jesus. When those burdens weigh down my mind and heart, I want to come to Him. When I feel weary and unable to take another step, I want to come to Him. I want His rest, His comfort. I want Him.

I pray that this year I learn to rest in Jesus. I hope to be thankful when I feel burdened because it will remind me that Jesus is there, waiting for me to come to Him. And I pray that you can rest in Jesus, too.