The first day of a new year. The first day of the rest of your life. A few days ago, I was playing with my one-year old grandson in his playroom when I noticed a quote from Dr. Seuss stenciled on the wall. “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” In a sense, at the beginning of this year, we would all do well to get in touch with ourselves. The development this year of a healthy self-image, self-respect and self-esteem will go a long way to being able to relate well to others out of a place of inner confidence. It appears to me that some individuals are taken advantage of by others simply because they lack a personal sense of wholesome identity.
Knowing that we are loved by God and learning that we are to love ourselves as creations of God, we enter this new year with renewed hope. It has been said that there are three types of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who don’t know what happened!
You are created in the image of God. You are valued by God. You are unique to God. No one cares for you like God cares for you. The Psalmist David wrote a song for the choir director (Psalm 139). “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them.” The One who knows you best, loves you most.
Knowing that we are loved by God and learning that we are to love ourselves as creations of God, we enter this new year with renewed hope. It has been said that there are three types of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who don’t know what happened! May I suggest that each of us take the time to sketch out what we would like to see happen this year. Live intentionally! Twelve new months have dawned. What am I going to do to deepen my relationship with God? To re-energize myself? To strengthen family ties? To rebuild my community? Record your goals in each arena of life and review your objectives regularly. If we aim for nothing, we will hit it every time! With God’s divine help, become the person you were meant to be. “There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Happy New Year!