Grace-Filled Resolutions

 

 

Dear Old Friend,

I hope your Christmas was filled with family, love and laughter!  My husband and I celebrated on Christmas Eve, since he had to work Christmas Day.  We had a good dinner and then watched Christmas movies together. 

I got up before dawn Christmas Day, loaded my car with presents and headed to my son’s house so that I would arrive before the kids woke up and started the gift opening frenzy.  As it turned out, it was an hour and a half after I got there before they woke up!  The first one up was Granddad, then Nana dragged herself out of bed, after staying up until 3:00 a.m. wrapping presents; so, it was the grandparents who sat around chatting and drinking coffee waiting for the children and parents! Who would have thought?

The day was delightful; lots of games to enjoy with my precious grandchildren, many toys to assemble and video games to be played; and the festivities ended with a scrumptious Christmas dinner. A blessed family time!

Now, with Christmas behind me, I am looking ahead to the New Year.  I don’t know how you feel about New Year’s Resolutions, but I have decided to put an end to the annual cycle of determination and failure.  Last year I came up with a once-and-for-all list that I think of as my “Grace-filled Resolutions”.  I wanted to share them with you:

1.        Fearlessly cultivate an awareness of your daily sinfulness.  Be brutally honest about your pride, judgment of others, unkind thoughts and words, short-temperedness, impatience, selfishness, self-righteousness, greed, self-pity, lack of faith, lack of trust, irreverence, etc.

2.       Boldly go to God with that painful awareness, with no excuses or false promises to change, and humbly thank him for loving and forgiving you unconditionally every single day because of Jesus’ sacrifice which covers it all, even though you deserve nothing but his condemnation and wrath.  Then gratefully bask in his love.

3.       When you find yourself wanting to treat others the way “they deserve”, remember what you deserve and how God loves and forgives you over and over again, and respond accordingly.

4.       When you fail at #3, and you will, repeat #2; for the rest of your life.

No matter what the New Year holds, I can face it with the peace that comes only from knowing and accepting God’s matchless gift of grace.

My prayer, dear friend, is that you, too, will know that peace!

Love Always,

Bonnie