Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Do you make resolutions or set a word of the year? I do both. My word for the year is “Contentment.” I believe that reminding myself to be strive for contentment in the new year will help me with my goals.
No, I don’t need all new decor. I have plenty. No, I don’t need to eat out all the time, homecooked meals are healthier and MUCH less pricey. I can plan ahead and pre-cook, and that will be just fine. I don’t need a new car yet. My van fits my family well. When I do NEED to replace it, I don’t need to buy new. That’s a waste when a nice, newer-used car will be a better deal and work out great for us. Really, most of my goals revolve around breaking bad habits and mindset problems I’ve created out of discontentment.
What a Year
2024. Can you believe it’s here already? What a year 2023 was! I guess we could say that about every year. We can look back at each year’s end and remember all the significant happenings. We could tell funny stories about family members goofing off. Or maybe a friend said a phrase wrong, and now you insist on telling people to take everything they hear with a “gram of salt.”
Other memories are harder to think about — the loss of loved ones, a troubling diagnosis, financial disaster. These things make it difficult to remember the previous year with fondness. Contentment doesn’t mean that we pretend everything is ok and nothing can shake us. Some things are not ok and shake us to the core. Where is the contentment in that?
Found in Faith
Contentment is most often, especially in particularly trying times, found in faith. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.” This is really a teaching about materialism, but it is kind of the same thing we are talking about here.
We live in a fallen world full of sin. I have sinned. So have you. “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God,” Romans 3:23. Because we live in a fallen world, bad things happen. Terrible things happen. People die. Children are abused. Loved ones suffer from illnesses that we can’t help. Depression, anxiety, and chronic stress run rampant.
But God
BUT GOD! Romans 6:23 reminds us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our faith in the gospel and God’s plan of salvation can bring peace to our lives and to our souls. This verse teaches us that, yes, bad things have happened, do happen, and will happen. Sin has consequences. But for those in Christ, the suffering here on planet Earth is temporary.
Believers who have passed on are no longer suffering. In fact, passing from this life was a blessing for them. They are in Paradise right now. Our sadness and grief in missing them remains. Contentment comes with our knowledge of (and faith in) God’s promises. The hope Christ provides gives contentment. The blessings we see when we look for them (and they ARE there) bring contentment.
Contentment Throughout the Year
How am I going to keep a mindset of contentment throughout the year? First, I know I will fail at times. I have decided up front to give myself grace for that and remember that this is a lifelong process. Second, I will take action. I pray often, but I have determined to start a prayer journal. This will allow me to look back at previous prayers and see how they’ve been answered. I will also spend more time in The Word. This really needs, for me, to be first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Taking time before the chaos of the day will help me to handle stressful situations with a more graceful attitude. Spending a few more minutes at night going through a study or a good devotional will calm my brain and help me get better, more restful, sleep.
Contented New Year!
Whether you set “contentment” as your word of the year or not, shifting to a contented mindset will help you attain your goals without beating yourself up every time you miss the mark. Contentment in the process will help you stay the course for the long haul. Here’s to a Contented New Year!