2022 came in with a bang. After the warm glow of Christmas festivities, the cold reality of Covid smacked us in the face. Suddenly, New Year’s Eve parties became risky. Then our church services were once again only online (temporarily, but still….) Covid-19 has taught us one important lesson: take nothing for granted. Airplane flights, plans, parties…. Covid can cancel any of these without notice.
And the pandemic has forced me to consider what is important and what is trivial.
What do I really require, and what can I relinquish?
What’s Really Important, Anyway?
As I consider this, I find what’s most important to me are my faith, my family, and my friends. Other things are just fluff: fame, fortune, fancy house, fine new car, or fashionable clothes. (Well, okay, a do have an affinity for fancy clothes, but I don’t NEED them.)
So as I set goals for the New Year, I need to keep these three essentials in mind. I can’t allow cynicism or Covid-worry to dampen or extinguish my faith.
With this in mind, I’ve got to prioritize time with the people I love most. For me, the hardest thing about the pandemic has not been the mask-wearing or the hand-sanitizing frenzy. The hardest thing has been the separation from the people I love. The get-togethers put on hold. The trips that didn’t happen. The hugs that were forbidden.
So in 2022, I don’t have any specific resolutions; I only have a clearer vision of what matters. In 2022, let’s show our determination to grow in our faith. Let’s take advantage of every opportunity to connect with our people—the ones who truly matter. It’s time to separate the essential from the extraneous. To say “yes” to the important things, and let go of the trivial.
And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42 NKJV
A Song to Start Your New Year
Here’s a New Year’s Blessing for all of you: May God’s favor be upon you, and a thousand generations, and your family, and your children, and their children, and their children.
