To Make an End

2018 is almost upon us, and I've been thinking a lot about it. 2017 seemed to pass in a blur of drama and emotion, and even still it's hard to grasp that the year is practically over. You might be thinking, as I am, about what resolutions to make for 2018. Should I read more? Exercise more? Learn a new hobby? The possibilities are endless really, and oftentimes I find coming up with a meaningful resolution to be more stressful than it's worth (especially when you find yourself failing at it two months into the new year). But there is something to be said about honest reflection and planning, and I encourage you, as I remind myself, to look back at the year and think about what went right and what you can still work on. Set a few hours aside before the clock strikes midnight on the 31st and just write a couple things down. What are you grateful for? What might you need to pick back up and try once again (or in my case, try for the second or third or fourth time)?

I thought about it today, and I'm grateful for many things in 2017: I began a new job, my father received his citizenship, I got my second tattoo, my sister graduated from college, I caught the bouquet at a dear friend's wedding, watched another dear friend get ordained, and am generally just another year wiser and happier and younger. (Yes, the older I get the younger I feel. Work that one out.) There were setbacks, for sure, and things I still need to work on, but that's why God has given me another year. There's no pressure, really. So as I think about the things I still want to accomplish and improve on (exercise more, pray more, find a date that sticks) I've discovered that the New Year is less about what I do outwardly than about how I change inwardly. And in reflecting on that I discovered the only New Year's resolution that matters: how will I love better in 2018?

Do you want to know how to be a better person? The answer is amazingly simple, yet complex: find out how to love. Really love, with courage, sacrifice, generosity, and humility. Love is the crux, the foothold, the nucleus of everything of worth there ever is, was, and will be. Becoming a better person is a journey in how to love.

So, how can you love yourself better? Is it by eating healthier or exercising more? Maybe you have to stop comparing yourself to other people. Maybe you just need to work less and relax with intention. Only you know.

How can you love other people better? Do you need to put your phone away sometimes? Learn how to apologize? Listen without creating a secondary agenda in your head?

How can you love the world better? Can you donate any of your time, talent, or treasure to those around you? I came to an important realization in 2017. Even though I am blessed with various gifts in these areas I found myself debating whether or not I was meant to really share them. I thought my gifts weren't good enough, or that "someone else" could or should help out instead of me, or that by giving these parts of myself away I'd somehow end up with less. Not true. Simply by the nature of being graced with these gifts of time, talent, and treasure, I am called to give them away. So the next time you're wondering if it's up to you to help, donate, or serve, the answer is easy: yes it is.

So what part of yourself will you make new for 2018? How will you allow love to change your outlook? Is it by a new soul, and refreshing your spiritual life? Is it new feet, to go where you have not gone before? New eyes, to look at things a different way? New ears, to be a compassionate listener? A new backbone, to have the courage to do what you know is right? All of it leads to love. Love of yourself, love of your neighbor, love of the world and everyone in it. To make an end is also to make a beginning, and love is the beginning of all things.