Well here we are… It’s a new year, a new decade. A clean slate, so to speak. Every year, surely like many of you, I reflect on the year gone by – the ups and downs, the good and the bad – in all aspects of life. I look at the joys and blessings that came about, the challenges, all the unexpected, and I think back.
One of the things I like to do is read my journal entry from the previous year, where I write about my hopes for the coming year and I ask myself – did I see this coming? Did I expect that to happen? And it seems the answer is always no.
For years I set New Year’s resolutions. And then I was not able to keep up on those, and so I started to pick a word for the year ahead, a theme for the year that tied to some area of my life where I wanted to grow. And that was nice – for a couple months.
The problem with all of this is those unexpected things, those countless things that arise and distract you and disrupt your plans, that break your resolve. And then we often settle into the same old things. Not always, but often.
And as Catholics we then head into Lent as sort of a reboot, the Easter renewal, and then settle back into our ways until Advent and Christmas, and again a new year… Before we know it, a year has gone by and I’m writing and we’re thinking the same old things, reflecting on the year gone by and making our plans, our resolutions for the next year.
The cycle continues. And that’s good, the Liturgical seasons are a blessing and were created for a reason. Reflecting on the previous year and hope for the year ahead is a good thing, as that is a means to grow.
But all too often, we focus on our plans, our hopes, and our dreams for the year ahead. We make resolutions, we choose words and themes, and we start out strong only to have our expectations broken by the unexpected.
Just take a pause… and ponder on this – our expectations broken by the unexpected.
Take Mary for instance. Today we celebrate her Solemnity, but before the Angel Gabriel paid her a visit, she probably had her own plans, her own dreams and expectations for her life ahead with Joseph. And then the unexpected happened… She conceived by the Holy Spirit.
And then 9 months or so later, they are in Bethlehem, to be enrolled for the census, and then the unexpected happens again – Mary goes into labor, and Jesus is born in a lowly manger, a food trough in an animal barn. Do you think Mary planned on the birth of her son happening like this? Was this what she expected?
But blessings happen. Grace abounds. They embrace it because, well, what else can they do? And they surrender to God’s will, and the rest is history…
And here we are today. A new year. I look ahead. What are my hopes and plans for this new year? I plan to be healthier and exercise more. I plan to eat better and lose weight. I plan to purge a lot from my life – both figuratively and literally – my garage and the spare bedroom is a wreck and my mind and soul are cluttered.
I plan to do more personal writing. I plan to help grow my wife’s new spiritual jewelry business (shameless plug). I plan to grow as a leader in my work. I plan to do a better job saving for the future. I plan to fix things up around the house. And the list goes on…
I have a lot of expectations, we all have a lot of expectations… until the unexpected comes.
And then what? Well, we can just go with it. We can embrace it and be open to the possibilities that will come. And we can only truly do this if we have a full trust in Christ and His Will for us, His expectations. We have to trust that His expectations are greater than ours, and that blessings and graces will come, even from those unexpected things that may hurt us or frighten us or sadden us or confuse us.
All of our plans are well and good. We may succeed at some. We may fail at others. And surely circumstances will happen that will distract us from our plans. But as long as we embrace His Will for us, and be open to those things we do not and cannot expect – we will grow. We will grow as a person. We will grow in character. And we will grow in our faith. And as a result, untold blessings and graces will come our way.
And so, I guess this is my challenge to myself and to all of you for the coming year – don’t focus solely on our own expectations and plans for the coming year, and don’t get down and disheartened when they get disrupted.
When the unexpected happens, look for God in the midst, and see the joy and blessings that He can bring as a result, if only we are open to Him and seeking Him. Trust in Him, have faith in Him, and grow in Him. And you never know, we may achieve those plans of ours after all, but in an even better – and unexpected – way.
God Bless, and Happy New Year!
