Happy New Year, friend!
2024 has come to a close and 2025 is open before us, like a freshly bought journal with pages yet to be filled.
You, like me, have likely received roughly 10 billion emails telling you what you “need” to do in 2025 to have a great year: Get fit. Lose weight. Read a book a week. Achieve your dreams.
Most of these ideas aren’t bad, but they all focus on something we do.
The question to ask to unlock the fullness of life is not, “What do I want to do in 2025”, but rather, “What kind of person do I want to be in in 2025?”
Of course, who we want to be will determine what we choose to do. But the desire to be will be the foundation of what we do, not the other way around.
Consider the text I received from a friend yesterday:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.”
If the year is to be filled with the fullness of life (which we all want and Jesus said he came to give us in John 10:10) being a grateful person will play a part.
A grateful person receives and enjoys everything God gives, from the simple to the profound.
Two days after Christmas I asked my kindergarten-age granddaughter what she most loved about Christmas. She paused before she answered, genuinely thinking about what she loved most.
Finally, she responded. “I loved every single moment.”
She is a grateful person and it makes her delightful to be with.
What can we be grateful for? For starters, the mind-blowing fact we can have a relationship with God through Jesus (let’s not take that gift for granted!) But a grateful person also lives aware that God has given us life, salvation, love, forgiveness, comfort, direction, purpose, His Word, friends, family…the list could go on.
Even when life is hard (and it often is) gratitude brings perspective and hope. Gratitude reminds us that not everything is hard and not every hard thing will last forever.
But there’s more!
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life when we consider not only what God has done in the past, but also what God will do in the future.
What God will do…
It’s exciting to anticipate, isn’t it?
Think about your life for a moment. There are things God will do in 2025 that you have yet to experience!
You’ve been given this year–and this day–because God willed it. He is working in you to make you more like Jesus and He will work through you if you let him.
No matter what transpired in 2024, or what has yet to happen in 2025, let’s kick off the new year with a prayer of gratitude and an acknowledgment of what kind of person we want to become.
God isn’t finished with you yet. There is more.
Pause right now and tell God, “Thank you” for the new year He’s given you.
What are you grateful for? Begin 2025 with a declaration of thanks by leaving a comment.
By the way, I’m thankful for YOU.
Happy New Year, my friend!
Donna
P.S. If you haven’t listened to the That’s Just What I Needed podcast yet, you’re missing out! I’ve had some incredible guests including Kay Warren, Megan Fate-Marshman, Dustin George, and Amanda Jaas. Check out the most recent episodes here.
And, if you’re looking for a speaker for your church or organization’s retreat, conference, or event I’d love to join you! Click here for more info.
