Are you like me? Do you start out the year with great intentions? You are determined to get control of those things that control you. I always start the new year with some very basic resolutions. I am definitely going to eat healthier and take better care of myself. I am going to spend more time with my husband, family, and friends. I am going to be careful with what comes out of my mouth, keep a cleaner house…and the list continues.
I have gotten better in some areas of my life as I have yielded them to the Holy Spirit. I have improved on the way I say things and how often I say them. Of course, there is always room for improvement. I do tend to be quieter in a conversation, but I still tend to give my opinion when no one asked for it. I know there are times we need to speak up, but there are so many more times it is not important what we think. We just need to be quiet and listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.
As far as the rest of the things I have mentioned, the answers seem to escape me. Our Lord has given us a ministry to help children. It is a fruitful ministry, and we have had many students come back and say we have made a difference in their lives. I have also had the heartbreak of seeing some of our students head down the path of destruction. We gave them the Scripture and the way to Jesus, but they have to make their own choices. The ministry consumes most of my time.
We have a great team at the ministry, but as in every other ministry or business there are not enough laborers, but the job has to be done. This includes the educational areas, like studying and preparing lesson plans, as well as the paperwork that has to be done in a school. It is an endless list. You all know what I am talking about.
My husband and I work in the ministry together. Even though we work together, we seldom have the time we would like to have with each other. As we are advancing in years, that has become more important than ever to me. We discuss problems, we fix toilets, we rejoice together over victories, and we eat dinner together most days. Sometimes I feel like I give him my leftovers. There is no time for a good movie or a walk in the park. We are just too exhausted by the end of the day. We do keep our Saturday morning lunch date just for us with few exceptions. We both would like to have more quality time together. I don’t know how to fix this.
As a mother and grandmother, spending time with my children and grandchildren is important to me. It is something I cherish. I do have the privilege of seeing most of my grandchildren at school every day, but I am also their teacher and principal. Sometimes that role is not always pleasant for them or me. But many times, it is a joy for us both. There is no time for baking cookies or going for a walk. I hope they know they can come to us if they need us. I guess time will tell.
When you have as many children and grandchildren as we do, you must accept that you won’t have the time with each of them that you would like. So you accept in your heart, that maybe you can be there when you are needed. We have always worked hard to treat the children and grandchildren equally, but there are times when one may need us more than the others. Our prayer is that we will know when those times are and reach out to them. This is not favoritism or greater love, it is how the Lord deals with us, except He is perfect, of course. He knows our needs before we do.
As I have shared my heart with you today, I am telling you I don’t know what the answer is to my resolutions. I can watch what I say as well as how much I put in my mouth. I do not take the time to exercise because other things take precedent. I do park further away at the store, and I walk up the stairs, but I do not have and probably won’t have a regular exercise routine. I will never keep my house as Mom did. I will have to be satisfied with livable. The dishes are done, the laundry is clean, and the house is not cluttered, except on part of the kitchen table.
As far as more time for my family and friends, perhaps that day will come. I hope so. I must focus on the fact that I know I am doing what God has called me to do. I also believe that God has called others to come and assist with our ministry as well as other ministries, but they have made excuses and refuse to yield to His will. I do not believe God desires for us to be as busy as we are, but I believe He is pleased that we are running the race and doing what is necessary to carry on His work.
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
Any resolutions that we have made that are about overcoming sin, like gluttony or not controlling what comes out of our mouths, need to be dealt with. Those things need not be in our lives. The other resolutions that we desire and that seem to be out of our grasp are hard to make come true.
As a Christian, we must wake each morning and tell the Lord this day is His. Ask Him for guidance and to show us the priorities for the day. If we follow His leading and spend each moment of each day how He leads, we can go to sleep at night at peace knowing we ran the race that day as He would have us to run it.
The Lord gave us many things on this earth to enjoy and our families are a special gift that He gave us. I believe He wants us to spend time with our families and put them in the proper place in our lives. Our spouses and children are important. We should raise our children in the admonition of the Lord. We must also be careful to put everything in the proper place under God’s umbrella.
Jesus endured the cross and counted it joy so we could be with Him one day. Should we not be able to live a life that is devoted to Him and count it all joy? Let us run the race that is set before us so we can smile at the end of the day and say “Good night, Lord. I love you.” Then He smiles back at us and says, “I know.”
How is that for a New Year’s resolution?
Mrs. Worthington has five children and twelve grandchildren. She serves as Principal of Pathway Christian Academy in Goldsboro.