Chapters

I often think of life in terms of chapters (maybe because I love to read). We spent last week closing a chapter of our life and beginning the next. We don't know how long of a chapter we just started, it might be relatively short or maybe it will last for awhile.

This past weekend we moved from one rental house to another. It is a bit ironic to me that it coincided with New Year's.  New house, new organization of stuff, new drive to work/school, new landlords, etc... Also a new resolve to truly clean out the "stuff" in our lives and get rid of what we do not need.

As we were moving boxes that we had not even opened since moving to Pennsylvania 16 months ago, it became apparent that we were just moving a bunch of "stuff". Stuff that is not necessary for our everyday lives and just takes up space. While there are a few boxes that have been relatively untouched over that time that we will keep (mostly pictures and books) most is just "extra weight" in our lives. So we have a plan to have a garage sale and then to arrange for a local organization to come and take whatever is left.

All of this has gotten me thinking in light of the typical discussions and comments on resolutions. I know that for myself I don't typically make resolutions on January 1st. I do however like to set goals for myself. I recognize the importance of setting clear and appropriate goals. Any goal needs to be attainable but also needs to be challenging to accomplish. For example you can't set a goal to lose 100 pounds in 6 months. That's not attainable. You also can't set the goal to just lose weight. It's not clear enough. But you could set a goal to lose 8 pounds in a month. This is possible and for most would create a bit of a challenge. And sometimes, a goal needs to be tweaked along the way depending on reality. Also, short term goals are better than long term. We need to be able to "see the end of the tunnel".  While it is OK to set a goal for the year, that goal needs to be able to be broken down into smaller goals. For example, a goal to read the entire Bible in a year is more easily attained when you have a daily reading plan. You have a daily goal that helps you accomplish the year long goal. Finally, when goal setting have a reward in mind. If your goal is to lose weight, make the reward a new outfit or accessory. If your goal is to read the Bible in a year, buy yourself a new Bible when you accomplish the goal or a new devotional.  Give yourself something to work for in addition to the sense of accomplishment in reaching your goal. It helps with motivation.

Now to tie in the goal setting and the chapters of our lives; when you are given a new chapter in life, what do you want the story to reflect when the last part of the chapter is written? For me, tangibly speaking, I want to move a lot less stuff. I want to value what I need and use regularly and let go of the things that are just taking up space. I want my home to reflect love and care of people rather than material things. And my reward for doing this will be less muscle aches when we have to move again. So for this chapter of my life, my goals will help write the story.

What about you? Is this new year bringing a new chapter? Or are you in the middle of a chapter? No matter which category you fall into, you have the ability to affect the story by the goals you set. Maybe your goals are related to health, maybe toward family relationships, maybe to being more like Christ, or maybe to all of those things. Come up with a plan that has clear, attainable goals and go after them.

Imagine if we all sought to be more like Christ, the chapters of our lives would have ETERNAL impact. Now that would be amazing.