Resolutions into Realities

"I am going to lose thirty pounds this year; I know I said that last year but this year I really mean it.  I. Am. Going. To. Do. It."  My sweet friend pounded the table for emphasis with each word of the last sentence.

Across the table from her another friend of mine spoke up, "This year I am going to read the entire bible all the way through.  I have always wanted to do it but never seem to make it through the Old Testament."

"My New Year's resolution is to work on my marriage more.  I want us to have a date night once a week where we just focus on us and not the kids, the bills, or the problems in the world."  Her voice was heavy with regret and feelings like their rocky road their marriage had taken last year could have been avoided if they would have spent more time together.

As I sat there and listened to each of my friends share their promises and hopes for what the New Year would bring to them- I could not help but notice that they all had one thing in common.  Each of their resolutions involved a commitment of time.

Getting healthy required setting aside time to exercise as well as planning and cooking healthy meals.  Reading the entire bible in a year meant a daily commitment to carving out time to set down and open God's word and learn about his truth. The best way to improve a neglected relationship is to nurture it with time and attention.

Change requires commitment and the biggest area that you need to be willing to commit yourself is in managing your time better.  We each are given the same 24 hours in each day and it is our choice to use it wisely or waste it away.

So many of us each new year with the greatest of intentions.  However, intentions are not enough to turn resolutions into realities.  If you want to see change in your life, your body, your faith, or your relationships it takes more than intention -- it requires investment.

You may have made poor investments of your time in the past; however, there is one truth about time that is powerful and consistent: The mistakes we made in our past by using our time poorly can often be corrected by choosing to invest our time in the future more wisely.

 Ask God to guide you in the wisdom of what things need your time and attention daily and which are tools that the enemy uses to distract and detour you from your purpose and potential. Be ever mindful that the story you write this year  will be authored by the choices you make investing each moment you are given.   Time is God's gift to you- what you do with it is your gift to God.