Weekly Reflection - 1/9/2024
New Year, New You? - The Rev. Kira Austin-Young
Happy New Year! As we leave the festivities of Christmas behind and return to our regular schedules of school and work, the new calendar year offers a chance to reflect on the past year and potentially set resolutions or intentions for the next one. New Year’s resolutions are famous for being abandoned with researchers suggesting that only 9% of people complete them. Even worse, 23% quit their resolutions by the first week and 43% by the end of January. I believe that, in part, this is because most of us are not very good at setting realistic, achievable goals, and we’re encouraged in this by advertisements and influencers selling us products and services to make us into the people that we want to be.
From a Christian point-of-view, I always need to be reminded (especially this time of year!) that there is nothing I have to do or be to earn God’s love. Whatever 2024 brings - whether I lose or gain weight, whether I read a bunch of books or only watch reality television shows, whether I forget to floss or pray the Daily Office - I am still God’s beloved child. That being said, there are always ways that I can live more faithfully and truly - carving out time and space to feed my own soul so that I can care for others, working on responding to anxiety in the world from a place of groundedness, continually seeking God’s voice in prayer, worship, and Scripture, and being a good friend, spouse, and daughter.
Instead of resolutions, consider making a Rule of Life. Rooted in the monastic movement and dating back to the 4th century, a Rule of Life is a commitment to live your life in a particular way and is meant to be crafted in prayer and discernment. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Way of Love is one example of a Rule of Life with general practices like Learn, Pray, Bless, and Worship that find their particularity in each individual’s circumstances and discernment. Rather than being focused on what we do, a Rule of Life is designed to help you become, and the goal is not perfection but faithfulness. If this interests you, there are myriad resources (podcasts, journals, books, etc.) available to help you, and the linked website above is one place to start, as is this list of resources.
While there are so many events and happenings in the world around us that we cannot control, we can seek to respond faithfully and with integrity, and that is my prayer for all of us in this new year.
The Rev. Kira Austin-Young
Associate Rector
