I have no prognostications for the new year. No bright ones. No gloomy ones. The best thing that we can do, I believe, is wait and see what happens in 2022. The new year may turn out worse than we expect. It may turn out better. It is too early to tell.
God is not going to go away. God is not going to take a break during the new year. God will be present regardless of whether we enter our own personal dark night of the soul and are unable to sense his presence. What I urge my readers to do in the new year is to be faithful reflections of our Lord; to lean into what he taught and showed us; live our lives as he would have us live them: being merciful like God, loving God, loving our neighbor, loving our enemies, doing good to them, treating other people exactly as we would wish to be treated, measuring people with the measure that we would wish to be measured, making allowances, forgiving people’s faults and not keeping count of the times that we do, and loving one another; doing all the things that our Lord would have us do; and to make full use of the grace that God gives us.
I believe that if we do this, we will be bright lights in our neck of the woods and will make a difference in other people’s lives. We will grow in maturity of character and in our love of God. We will not become flawless, but we will become closer to the better self that God would have each of us become.
In loving God more, we will also love others more because loving God and loving others are inseparably intertwined. God himself will live in us and God’s love will be made perfect in us.
I hope that the new year holds better things—the waning of the pandemic, the healing of broken friendships and relationships, the repair of people’s lives shattered by natural disasters and other tragedies, the uniting of a nation divided by so many things...yes, happier days for all of us.
I enter the new year bereft a friendship that meant much to me. I do not know what actually caused the fracturing of our friendship but the person with whom I once enjoyed amicable relations pulled away from me, leaving me sorrowing over the loss of their friendship.
During the past year my cousin lost a husband, her two daughters, a father, and her two grandchildren, a grandfather. Two of my nieces and their children lost a father and a grandfather. A member of my church family lost two grandparents to COVID-19 and a second member a husband. 2021 has been a year of great loss.
The pandemic has taken its toll, reminding us that life is short. The accidental fatal shooting of a young girl in Los Angelos is reminder that death can be sudden and unexpected. If we have a broken friendship or relationship, it is a good idea to seek forgiveness and reconciliation while we can.
I ran across this Psychology Today article on offering apologies a few minutes ago: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/202112/surefire-way-repair-damaged-relationship
According to the University of Pittsburgh’s Karina Schumann and Anna Dragotta (2021), it is important to try to rectify the damage done to a friendship or a relationship.
“In their words, ‘Although common, offenses that are left unresolved can poison people’s valued relationships.’ Not only do these offenses spoil the relationship at the heart of the dispute, but they can spread to the larger social networks of each person, ultimately “severely undermining the wellbeing of those involved.”
For Christians, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation between themselves and their fellow Christians is the right thing to do; so is facilitating forgiveness and reconciliation between two Christians in a fractured friendship or relationship. Jesus taught us to love one another and emphasized that our love for one another would be what set up apart from the world, but it is difficult for us to love one another if we have broken friendships and relationships with our fellow Christians.
In a friendship or a relationship, we are apt to act in ways that hurt each other. Sometimes, unintentionally; other times, intentionally. If we are Christians, we may not always be as loving as Jesus taught us to be. But we don’t have to stay that way. If we respond to the Holy Spirit’s nudging and make use of the grace that God has given us, we can change for the better. All of us! I include myself! We can become more like the better self that the Holy Spirit is gently encouraging us to become.
I hope that the new year holds better things—the waning of the pandemic, the healing of broken friendships and relationships, the repair of people’s lives shattered by natural disasters and other tragedies, the uniting of a nation divided by so many things...yes, happier days for all of us.
I enter the new year bereft a friendship that meant much to me. I do not know what actually caused the fracturing of our friendship but the person with whom I once enjoyed amicable relations pulled away from me, leaving me sorrowing over the loss of their friendship.
During the past year my cousin lost a husband, her two daughters, a father, and her two grandchildren, a grandfather. Two of my nieces and their children lost a father and a grandfather. A member of my church family lost two grandparents to COVID-19 and a second member a husband. 2021 has been a year of great loss.
The pandemic has taken its toll, reminding us that life is short. The accidental fatal shooting of a young girl in Los Angelos is reminder that death can be sudden and unexpected. If we have a broken friendship or relationship, it is a good idea to seek forgiveness and reconciliation while we can.
I ran across this Psychology Today article on offering apologies a few minutes ago: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/202112/surefire-way-repair-damaged-relationship
According to the University of Pittsburgh’s Karina Schumann and Anna Dragotta (2021), it is important to try to rectify the damage done to a friendship or a relationship.
“In their words, ‘Although common, offenses that are left unresolved can poison people’s valued relationships.’ Not only do these offenses spoil the relationship at the heart of the dispute, but they can spread to the larger social networks of each person, ultimately “severely undermining the wellbeing of those involved.”
For Christians, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation between themselves and their fellow Christians is the right thing to do; so is facilitating forgiveness and reconciliation between two Christians in a fractured friendship or relationship. Jesus taught us to love one another and emphasized that our love for one another would be what set up apart from the world, but it is difficult for us to love one another if we have broken friendships and relationships with our fellow Christians.
In a friendship or a relationship, we are apt to act in ways that hurt each other. Sometimes, unintentionally; other times, intentionally. If we are Christians, we may not always be as loving as Jesus taught us to be. But we don’t have to stay that way. If we respond to the Holy Spirit’s nudging and make use of the grace that God has given us, we can change for the better. All of us! I include myself! We can become more like the better self that the Holy Spirit is gently encouraging us to become.
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