No Resolution? No Problem!

Can you believe it’s already 2019? Seems like just a few days ago it was 2018. I think I was supposed to make a few resolutions, wasn’t I? You know, the standard ones. Lose weight, quit smoking, stop guzzling down the tequila, eat healthier, exercise more, (or at all,) be nicer, curb spending, etc. etc. etc. Since I would never be considered a drinker, unless it’s of water, some are easy. Hey! Maybe that’s a solution to the resolution problem…make resolutions you know you can actually keep.

Truth be told, I gave up on making resolutions a long time ago, and we all know you can’t teach an old dog (or cat) new tricks. Since that’s my story and I’m sticking to it, no resolutions for me. Over the years, I found out that all my good intentions of losing weight, eating healthy, and exercising went by the wayside when faced with a Snickers bar in the checkout line. I toyed around with the idea of eating a candy bar while exercising, but that sounded like too much work, so I immediately nixed the idea. Besides, food tastes much better in the recliner than on the glider. And there is that klutz problem I have. Envisioning mac and cheese spilled all over the floor, I nixed the idea of eating while exercising.

I think the problem with resolutions are that we make them too grandiose. We make a list of all our faults and decide we’re going to fix them in the new year. If we couldn’t correct a “problem” in the previous year, what makes us think we can do it in the new one? The only thing we really accomplish is finding one more thing to add to the “I need to fix” list…we’re a failure. How depressing.

I have a better idea. Instead of being a month into the new year and realizing we’ve already blown our resolutions, don’t make any. No resolution? No failure. Cool. No being down on yourself because you didn’t lose a hundred pounds by Valentine’s Day and your significant other (looking at you Ed,) gets you a big box of See’s candy—BEST candy ever!

Problems don’t usually appear overnight so why do we expect them to disappear overnight? I didn’t wake up one day, look in the mirror, and say, “What the heck happened last night?” The weight just kept gradually adding on as did my determination to lose it. It didn’t take the start of a new year for me to want to lose weight–I thought about it quite a few times the previous year. But I’m weak. You know, spirit is willing, flesh is weak. Yep, that’s me.

Does it count as a resolution if you tell yourself you need to (fill in the blank) more? I found myself doing that last year. I belong to the presidential prayer team, and I must admit to a big failing in that area. You’re supposed to pray for the prez and our leaders every day, and they send you his agenda, so you can tailor your prayers. I don’t do it as much as I’m supposed to. Probably because the reminder doesn’t come in early enough. Terrible excuse, I know. I think it counts if you add him to your prayer list but aren’t specific in the request. I hope so, because that’s what normally happens.

I have made a “determination” to be more proactive in that one area, but I refuse to call it a resolution, because I’m not going to set myself up for a failure. Lord knows I can come up with enough of them on my own, without other people adding to the list. I do think that’s a “determination” we should all make. To pray for our leaders. So, if you’re bound and determined to make resolutions this year, please add that to your list. Pray for our world. It needs all the help it can get.