Anyone who knows me well, knows I’m not a big fan of resolutions—at least not the New Year variety. Usually, I tend to follow through on resolutions when I am convinced—or convicted by the Holy Spirit—that I need to make a change, not simply because a new year is starting. That said, the new year seems like a good time to reflect—on God’s goodness and blessings, as well as regrets and things that could have been done differently or better. It also can be a time to resolve to improve on those areas that need tweaking, or complete overhauling.

As I look back on 2013, here are some things I experienced in 2013:

God is my provider

I know this and have experienced His provision over and over again, and yet, being self-employed I have the opportunity to put my trust in God’s provision more often than many people I know. Once again we were on the verge of running out of assets and contemplating selling our house when God provided more work than I could handle and actually had to turn down several opportunities.

God is my healer

A couple years ago I injured my right knee and it never recovered. You could hear the “popping” and “grinding” in the knee at times and it was painful to walk. Because I tend to be stubborn and try to avoid things like surgery, I never got it examined by the doctor. I knew it would be expensive and didn’t have the money to spare. In June of 2013 at our church’s men’s retreat, we were supposed to do an activity that would require a lot of hiking. I was a team leader and really wanted to do the activity, but I could barely walk because of the pain. I shared my heart with God and asked if He could heal it. This is something that I have asked innumerable times before since I made Jesus my Lord and savior at age 15. I know God heals. I have seen it and knew friends who were healed of things. However, I never experienced instant healing before myself. We had just heard a message about how one way God works is through community (other believers). The passage was about how God prompted Paul to seek out Ananias to receive his sight again. I felt God say to me “what did you just hear”? I turned around and a group of brothers were walking toward me so I asked them to pray for my knee. After a couple minutes of prayer, I tested my knee and the pain was gone—instantly! I am still pain-free to this day. In fact, my healed knee is now stronger than my “good knee”.

God is faithful

There are numerous examples of God’s faithfulness toward me and my family in 2013, so I will share just one. My son Eric boarded a plane for Auckland, New Zealand on New Year’s Eve one year ago. As I write this post, it’s been exactly one year since he left to pursue God’s call to work as a social worker helping troubled youth in a country with the world’s highest teen suicide rate. His future was uncertain, but he didn’t anticipate just how uncertain it would become. After spending months working at an internship and putting a lot of work into preparing for a career in NZ, he began looking for a job in July. To make a long story short, it was November and he still needed a job in his field by Dec 2nd or he would have to leave the country for at least a year before returning. There were many people praying for a long time with no job in sight. There was one more opportunity but it wasn’t clear they would even make a decision in time for Eric to stay in the country. He got a call from the agency saying he got the job and could he start on Dec 2nd? Eric got the job, and God got the glory—as it should be.

God blesses His children

I have been blessed in so many ways, but the things my wife Sharon and I are so aware of are the things that money can’t buy. Things like family. We love each other and like being with each other. Unfortunately, that is more rare than it should be. We are keenly aware of God’s blessing and grace in our lives. All we have—and will have—is because of God’s grace and mercy. It stirs us and reminds us to show His love and grace to others. That is something we need to improve in 2014.

So may you know and experience God’s presence even more in 2014. And regarding our marriage relationship, lets resolve to…

  • Be quick to resolve conflict and extend forgiveness
  • Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger
  • Don’t take offense easily, but extend the same grace God has given you
  • Don’t merely look out for your own interests, but also your spouse’s
  • Cultivate your friendship with your spouse and honor them as God does

I pray that in 2014 our marriages will point others to Christ and be a reflection of His love and grace that He has for His church.

Happy New Year!