This time of year is littered with “self-help”: attitudes, books, websites, influencers, podcasts and yes… humble little blogs like this one. I like this time of year. I know a lot of people who don’t. They refuse to make goals at all, especially this time of year, for multiple reasons. They say things like, “I’ll just waste time and money on things that I know I’m not going to be successful with, so why try?” In my opinion, this is akin to saying, “I don’t celebrate Christmas because I never like the gifts people buy me.” Um… that’s not the point. In the words of the man with the biggest heart on record, “It came without ribbons, it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.” – the the the the Grinch 

And on this note, I wrote a whole post about goals and hope. But then I thought about what I have done well in my life, and what I find lacking. I realized how much I focus on what I haven’t done and need to work on, and how little I acknowledge the things for which I am so grateful. And I just couldn’t post the positive hype-post for discipline, motivation, and hope because the things in my life I am the most grateful for I had nothing to do with. Even the progress on the goals that I have made in the past year like: a tidier house, paying off debt, spending more time with my kids. None of these things were accomplished by me. There were so many circumstances outside of my control or discipline that led to the success I had. It was God’s work through me that did it. For example, I have stopped biting my nails. I have had this bad habit for decades, and it’s one of the things that is on my New Years Resolution list every year. I’ve used bitter nail polish, press-on nails, a rubber band around my wrist to snap anytime I catch myself biting my nails. None of this has ever worked. But in the last 3 years God has removed so much stress from my life that biting my nails stopped as a by-product. “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” – David, Psalm 23

He has brought peace to my life like I’ve never imagined. I have always been an anxious person. I remember getting so worked up about events and school activities I would throw up from the stress, and now I hear the still small voice of God because my life is quiet enough to hear it, and I had nothing to do with getting it there. God removed things from my life and put me in situations to support progress without my knowledge, and hindsight is what allowed me to see. I focused on the root of creation: God himself. I focused on having a better relationship with him and understanding him better, and slowly but surely, my life started to change: my friendships grew deeper, my relationship with my husband got better. Probably because as I got closer to God, I was a lot more likable. 

I’m still tempted by the pride of life. I’m tempted to give myself credit when it is Him working through me that has brought me to where I am. But now I know, when I give up, and give it to Him, that’s when He takes over.