4 January
Dear Friends,
New King. New Kingdom. New Life. Happy New Year!
As we enter a new year, we are presented with the opportunity to reset, reevaluate, and restart. For some, 2024 may have been a wonderful year that you wish could last a bit longer. For others, it might be time to embrace fresh beginnings and let go of the past. This year can bring new habits, dreams, goals, and aspirations. However, some may approach a new year with scepticism, having experienced enough New Year celebrations to know that a new year does not always bring real change.
Wherever you find yourself on this spectrum, one thing is certain: time waits for no one. Research indicates that the excitement surrounding New Year’s resolutions tends to fade quickly. It is estimated that approximately 80% of people who make resolutions in January have abandoned them by February. Only about 8% manage to maintain their resolutions until December.
Despite this, figures like author Adam Grant remind us that “reset moments” still hold significant value. These moments give us the chance to envision something different for our lives. Grant suggests that we should focus on keeping our goals simple and realistic. Instead of setting unattainable objectives, we should concentrate on aligning our lives with our core values.
As we embark on this new adventure—ready or not—I look forward to journeying together as a community, getting to know each other better, and dreaming about what God is doing among us. I would like to share a poem I received from a friend just before my flight from Cape Town, which I believe holds special meaning for our journey into the new year.
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
by Max Ehrmann ©️1927
Marius Louw