3 Things NOT To Do This New Year

2020 has been a year. Am I right? It’s been a year that has seemed more like 10 years! It isn’t a hard one to say goodbye to, with all of the struggles it has held.

Today, we welcome in the new year of 2021. As we do, there are a few things we should NOT do.

1. Learn from the past, but don’t LIVE in it.
   Lessons are important, and 2020 has held a lot of them. We should learn from what we have experienced - individually, as a nation and as a world. Through experiences, we learn what works, and what doesn’t work; what we should do, and what we shouldn’t do. It’s important to take what we have learned and move forward with those lessons, not stay stuck in the past or situations that are not healthy. Let’s not keep looking back - because we’re not GOING that way. Let’s make the focus of 2021 about WHO we are BECOMING, not where we’ve been, what we have done or who we have known. God can use our experiences to shape us into who HE wants us to be. I wholeheartedly believe that when we pursue Him, our desires for our lives BECOME His desires for our lives. Psalm 37:4 reminds us of that fact, and we see it play out when we passionately desire Him above all else.

2. Don’t withhold love.
   If we truly focus on who we are becoming, and aim to glorify God in all that we say and do, our goal should be love at all times. Love won’t look the same in every situation. Sometimes it will be easy. Some PEOPLE are easy to love. We all have pretty great success in that area. Others, however, are NOT easy to love. Perhaps it is someone that has been unkind, or created conflict or tension. Perhaps it is someone who thinks very differently than you, or lives very differently than you. God doesn’t tell us to love just the easy ones or those that we have lots in common with. He tells us to love. Everyone. All the time.
   If you are a parent, you know very well that sometimes the MOST loving thing you can do for your child is to help them to learn hard lessons. Sometimes saying no is the most loving thing we can do. This is true with others in our lives as well. Being love does not always mean keeping our mouth’s shut or agreeing with everything they say. What it DOES mean, is that you show others that you care, you SEE them, and that you are FOR them. It means going out of our way to BE love.

3. Don’t assume the worst.
   It would be easy to assume that 2021 will be rough. While that is likely not wrong, we can choose to find value in the lessons of struggles, and to be intentional to look for blessings. We are never the same after we have walked a difficult path.
   I heard this story recently, and it is a perfect example.
   

   A pastor attended a men's breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area. The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say a prayer.

   "Lord, I hate buttermilk," the farmer began.

   The pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going.

   The farmer loudly proclaimed, "Lord, I hate lard."

   Now the pastor was growing concerned.

   Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, "And Lord, you know I don't much care for raw white flour."

   The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one to feel uncomfortable.

   Then the farmer added, "But Lord when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So Lord, when things come up that we don't like, when life gets hard when we don't understand what you're saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen."

So, friends, let’s step into 2021 with anticipation. Let’s keep a right perspective, move forward, and love at every step along the way! Happy New Year!