New Year + New Season = No Excuses!

At the beginning of the new year, I always make a list of goals that I want to accomplish. Losing weight, saving money, and better prioritizing my time are just some of the things that I’ve set my hopes on. When the end of the year comes, nothing feels better than pulling out my list and putting a check mark next to all the things that I’ve done. In my mind, I say “job well done Brandy” and I personally pat myself on the back.

I would be lying to you if I said that I’ve met all of my goals. There have been years when I planned to save money but ended up frivolously buying clothes, purses, shoes, and anything fashion-related. Or even still, year after year, I hoped to meet a handsome, intelligent, and godly man who would whisk me away from singleness so I could enjoy the pains and pleasures of married life. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to put a check mark next to this either because things just don’t work that way.

God has shown me that life is more than check marks, in fact, on our “lists” there are probably more eraser marks, question marks, and lots and lots of scribble. We tend to measure the quality of our lives by the total number of achievements next to our names, but God sees things very differently. To Him, our lives are a collective cycle of seasons, full of mistakes, do-overs, and delays filled with times of extreme joy but also layered with times of profound distress. According to Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV), “there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” This statement alone proves that the season of life is more important than the year and all the things you think you missed out on, weren’t failed opportunities. God uses seasons as indicators of His divine timing and if you haven’t experienced it yet, that just means it wasn’t time for that season. The seasons will inevitably change but only God knows when, and it’s up to us to get all that we can out of one season so we’ll be ready when the next season of blessing begins.

So, this year I dare you to make a new type of resolution. I want you to take the focus off the numerical year and talk to God about the season. Ask Him what He wants from you, then write it out. After this, be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Don’t make excuses. Change happens incrementally and it might take time for God to work out some things in you before He starts the clock of your next season. I know, it might feel uncomfortable but all you have to do is listen to Him, the Author of your life. He wants you to experience the best but the quality of your season largely depends on you. Of course, you’ll make mistakes but don’t worry because God has an eraser that will help you start all over again. Now, if you don’t listen or are unwilling to learn the lesson, you’ll be delayed or even worst, find yourself stuck in a season that God intended for you to pass through, and not stay in. This year, God wants you to learn everything that you can before you start a new season of life.