Resolution

I really like this time of year. A fresh slate. A new beginning. A new lease on life. Somehow it seems my closets get cleaned out and certain areas of my life get purged. It's such a hopeful time of year.

I'm HAPPY to leave 2007 behind. Whew! What a hard year. It seems half of the year I spent either in bed or on the bathroom floor. The other half I spent tending to very needy kids. I know there has to be a connection between the two. When I foster I know I am working on the front-lines of God's Kingdom and Satan would love nothing more than to keep me from doing it. He won't succeed but boy has he tried and stripped me of my strength.

I'm not big into resolutions but I really do like the hopeful feeling that comes when you look forward. It's almost as if God built this opportunity for purging into the rhythm of life. As I look forward to the upcoming year I'm not thinking about a new exercise regime (well, actually I am kinda), I don't smoke, I don't want to strive to laugh more (I heard someone claim this resolution on the news last night). I just want to lift my eyes to the hills. I want to gaze into my Savior's eyes. He is where my strength comes from. He is what I want to focus on today and tomorrow...not my own selfish desires. So, I decided that instead of choosing a pointless resolution this year I want to choose a verse to focus on.

My verse this year will be: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

So, for 2008 my mantra will be to fix my eyes on what is unseen. I can't imagine one single scenario that I might encounter this year that this verse won't apply. I will tattoo this verse on my soul and remember it the next time I feel I'm losing strength or feeling defeated. And I know there will be plenty of opportunities in 2008.