REDDING: New year, new you?

(Photo by Tim Mossholder/Unsplash)We are already a few weeks into the new year, yet it somehow feels as though it just began. 
The calendar has turned, the decorations have been put away, and ordinary life has resumed, but I’ll bet many of us are still trying to catch our breath.  

Like many people, I tend to make New Year’s Resolutions, and like many people, I already feel behind. It’s not that I’ve already given up on my resolutions; rather, I feel like the year started so quickly that I didn’t even get a chance to start. And so now I think about the things that I hoped to do in the new year and feel like I’m already behind. 

New Year’s resolutions can feel a bit arbitrary, and it is important to acknowledge that. Still, it is a good and healthy thing to set goals and challenges for ourselves. It can be particularly helpful to attach those goals to a big event, like the start of a new year, to add some motivation and focus. However, there is a danger here as well. The very goals that were meant to inspire us and lead us toward growth can slowly turn into burdens. Instead of lifting us up, they can begin to weigh us down. 

Our faith also sets great goals and challenges before us. We are called to holiness, to conversion of heart, to love God and neighbor more deeply. This should be a joyful and hopeful reality. It reminds us of the goodness God has placed within us and of our capacity, with His grace, to grow. Yet even in our spiritual lives, these goals can sometimes feel heavy. What should encourage us can become a source of discouragement when we focus more on our shortcomings than on God’s mercy. Hope can shift to despair. 

Often, the harshest judge we face is ourselves. Just as with New Year’s resolutions, when it comes to growing in our faith, it is frequently our own expectations that we fail to meet. We imagine what a “better” or “holier” version of ourselves should look like, and when we fall short, we respond with frustration or shame. But growth in any way, especially in our faith, is rarely quick or linear. It is shaped by patience, perseverance and grace. 

Our journey of faith must always be motivated by love and hope, not by fear and shame. God does not invite us to change to earn His love; rather, He invites us to grow more fully in His love. Each step forward, no matter how small, matters. Each step brings us closer to the One who loves us dearly. 

Let us use this time of resolutions to see the ways that we need to grow in our faith and take steps to grow closer to God. Do we need to pray more? Learn more? Serve more? Set realistic goals for yourself, remembering that every step, even a small one, is important. Let it be a positive experience, filled with hope. 

There is nothing wrong with striving to be a “new you.” But remember this: God loves the old you, too. He walks with you not only at the finish line, but also at the starting point — and every step in between. ​

Father Tucker Redding, SJ, is the director and chaplain at the Rice Catholic Student Center.