“Happy New Year!” comes with a million meanings depending on your season of life: from the last big party of the holiday season to another great sale in the mall to making resolutions. But what would the new year look like if we spent the first day blessing it with happiness?
Instead of making a laundry list of to dos for the next 364 days, consider three blessings to guide your emotional, spiritual and physical well-being so that you will be a greater blessing to others.
I want more for the world than a whimsical wish of happiness in the midst of party hats and noise makers. I want to be more intentional about my actions that can make a difference in 2015. My three blessings to guide my emotional, spiritual, physical well-being are:
1. emotional– joy and gladness.
2. spiritual– grace and favor.
3. physical– water and sleep.
Intentionally recognizing these blessings each day will allow me to find where and how to act rather than a list of more things to add and do.
Because God is faithful, the blessings occur every day. The challenge for me will be in making room to recognize the blessings and give thanks for the blessings. I’ll also need to strengthen my eyes to recognize the daily opportunities for taking action in response to these blessings.
This is how I see it working.
- I plan to see the movie “Selma” on January 9. I will invite an unlikely group of different ages, ethnicity and gender to be my guests to keep a much-needed conversation going.
- I will keep gloves and socks in my car for those I encounter on the street this winter.
- And, at least through the month of January I will greet and bless those I meet with “Happy New Year.”
And, for all of you, have a happy new year!
Valora K Starr is director for discipleship.
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Photo by Carol VanHook. Used with permission.
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