Christmas – A Time to Take Stock and Set Goals

We are all familiar with New Year’s as the time to make resolutions. We think about our lives and how we want them to be different. These resolutions tend toward familiar patterns – lose weight, eat healthy, exercise more, and organize our finances. And we know how that goes. We attack these goals with gusto on January 1, and then sometime in February, we are back to the same lives as before.

So why is change so hard, and why do we repeat this unsuccessful approach every year? The problem is a matter of timing and focus. The timing is off because making resolutions at New Year’s means we must fix the whole next year. That’s just too long. We can’t make changes in large chunks of time. Our goals need to be bite-sized and achievable, giving us a high chance of reinforcing success.

The other problem is the focus of our resolutions. The goals tend to be focused on ourselves – our weight, our health, our habits. This approach shrinks our world and goes against our God-given design. We were meant to live generously for others. Our souls were designed for self-sacrificing service. Small goals die quickly, while great aspirations set the human heart on fire for the long haul.

That is why I would like to advocate for the Christmas Season and the weeks of Advent leading up to it, as the proper time to take stock of our lives and set new life goals. This time of year enables us to see our lives from a God-sized perspective and gives us a compelling holy path to follow.

The Advent/Christmas Season bends time. Advent starts the new Church Year in late November or early December. Christmas marks the turning point of all history with the birth of Christ on December 25th. Time bends according to God’s purposes, not in response to earthly calendars or human accomplishments. This challenges us to bend our lives toward God. What in our lives can be strengthened or changed to live in God’s time and God’s ways?

The Advent/Christmas Season affirms our worth. The Father sends His Son, Jesus, because he loves us and all the world. We are loved infinitely, so we can look at life changes from a place of fullness rather than scarcity. What are God’s plans for our lives, and what gifts has he given us to fulfill them?

The Advent/Christmas Season calls us to service. Jesus comes at Christmas as a Servant-Savior. He gives his life generously for others and invites us to follow this same path of fulfillment. What resolutions do we need to make to move deeper into lives of sacrificial service for others?

This year let’s make our resolutions in the spirit of the Advent/Christmas Season. We live in God’s holy and eternal time. We are loved and gifted by God. We are created to serve others. In the end, it’s not really about weight or exercise. We have a greater purpose. What changes shall we make this year?

Rich Harter, M.T.S.

Writer, Presenter, and Leadership Consultant for Catholic Parishes and Organizations

Written by a talented guest author, Rich Harter! Thank you, Rich, for sharing your words with us