Bob Nicholas.com

Are you ready! 2012 is beginning. What are your resolutions? To climb the highest mountain…or perhaps to set foot on all 7 continents…or to finally lose that annoying 15 extra pounds (which may appear to be 40lbs to some of you but really it is only 15lbs…trust me.).

I get annoyed with the zany new years parties and resolutions. It is like people mark the new year by pretending to want to improve, but in reality nothing changes. I know that health club memberships increase in January. I wonder what the actual rate of people who use them past January is…

In the past I have subscribed to the insanity myself and have even proclaimed 2012 as the “year of the foot” and am determined to run the St. Jude Half Marathon in December 2012. And yet, throughout this Advent and no Christmas season I have not run, nor completed a workout in preparation for my (deep voice with lots of commitment) Da Da Da DA “Year of the Foot”. So, am I really committed? Or am I too like the rest of humanity, only pretending to want to be better but actually comfortable in my apathy.

A couple of years ago I was telling my spiritual director that I just needed to get through the month and then everything would be okay. Financially, time management, work load, family responsibilities, and everything else was simply overwhelming me and I needed to get this one month over with. He looked at me and said, “explain to me what changes on the 1st day of next month.” I was stumped. My job was still there with lots of work to do. My wife would still need me to care for her and our children would still need a father. My relationship with God would still need time. My house and cars would need maintenance. And the number of hours in the day did not dramatically increase with the emergence of a new month. So…what changed?

This meeting with my spiritual director set in motion a dramatic change of events never before seen in human history, or at least Bob history which is slightly less lengthy but much more enjoyable…at least to me. I changed. I changed my priorities. Ultimately it is this conversation that would lead me to resign from my part-time job as Youth Minister, re-focus my relationship with my wife and children, and place my live in proper order. The reality is everything changed the next month, and yet nothing changed.

What is funny is that I started to write this post to discuss the Catholic New Year being the 1st Sunday of Advent. Apparently, what I really wanted to write about was change. Whether you decide to set a deadline of Jan 1, or the 1st Sunday of Advent, or any other day, the important thing is not what day nor what goal but rather what change do you want.

Recently i went to a management training conference. A high level manager commented that in any personal development plan you have to “own it” for change to occur. I think many times we Christians say we want to be like Christ because that is the right thing to do. But to you really own that goal? Or is it God’s goal for you? Between the two is a great difference. God wants you to join Him for eternity in heaven. God wants you to be a holy and blameless example for others. God wants you to love as He does. But do you? Change only occurs in you if you want it.

This New Years Eve, rather than drink away the last year and celebrate the beginning of another month in which everything changes if we could just make it, let’s own the true reality of our situations and honestly desire change. I will run the half marathon in December 2012 and I want to be held accountable to it. Putting it in writing here is terrifying because I know that my friends will hold me accountable…(that is if my friends actually read this, which is unlikely since they never listen to me anyway….). At least I know my wife will…I hope.

I pray that you make resolutions/goals that keep in mind your reality. Ask God to show you how He sees you, then work toward seeing yourself in the same way. Now there is change to be aspired to. Own yourself, no one else will.

Happy New Year.