Is Real Change Possible?

It's a new year! I don't want to be the same person I am today by December 31, 2017.  So that means I have 364 more days to make changes. That's a long time. But things happen. Life gets busy. And all at once, the will wanes. And I go back to my old ways and habits. 

Resolutions are just hard to keep, aren't they?

Maybe you, like me, dream of being a better version of yourself. I want to grow. I want to be different. But, how does true transformation happen?

I've never been great at setting New Year's Resolutions. Even though I love to think about the changes I want to make in my life, resolutions are hard for me. It's so easy for me to write them down, create a file, and then, somehow, I lose the file!

However, what I have found to work is setting goals in partnership with God. I use the simple categories: Mind, Body and Spirit. What changes do I want to make in my mind? What changes do I want to make with my body? What changes do I want to make in my spirit?

I know that as I partner with God on my specific goals, it is HE that helps keep me motivated. It is HE that gives me guidance. It is HE that gently and kindly molds my character flaws more into His likeness. It is HE that keeps me from discouragement. And somehow, change does happen as I partner with God. I'm not off the hook. I have hard work to do, but I trust that God will walk closely with me, every step of the way.

Let me give you an example: As I set my goal of restoring my ankle that was broken to full strength in 2017, I need God to help me BIG time. I can easily get discouraged at the very slow rate of healing and need God to give me patience. I need God to keep me disciplined to do my simple, boring exercises. I need God to give me hope in improving, even if small increments.

Formulas don't work for me. Neither does behavior modification. Change comes as I develop the habit of being and communing with God Himself. It's personal. It's a relationship. It's doing life with God, knowing He is the best partner I could ever have. 

Happy New Year!

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.