Ten days ago some family and friends stood around in our lounge, champagne in hand, eagerly counting down the clock to welcome in another new year. Big Ben struck midnight and everyone cheered and hugged each other. We even sang along with the TV to 'Auld Lang Syne.' It was warm and beautiful; A cherished memory.
But it's amazing how the buzz of Christmas, the pop of New Years Eve champagne corks, and the resolutions for a new year, quickly die away. It's January now. The wind is blowing outside and the kids are back at school, which means dark cold morning routines are ours for a while. The decorations have gone and the bathroom scales must surely be wrong, right?
I've been listening to people the last few days and reading their Facebook comments. It's amazing how quickly the "2012 is going to be amazing" comments have gone - packed away with the Christmas decorations, and just how quickly the "why is life so difficult?" comments have emerged, as the latest bills hit the doormat. Amazing but somewhat familiar.
The truth is, all we really have now are our habits, our routines, our rituals, our commitments. Not the commitments made around a candle lit room during a cosy meeting of friends; You know, the kind of "this year is going to be the best ever" grandiose statements.
No. Our commitments need to be more gutsy than that.
It's the decision to go for a walk, even though the wind's blowing that shifts a few more pesky calories. And we'll have to walk tomorrow too, even if it is raining. It's the decision to plan another days work and follow through with it when no-one's checking up on you. It's the intentional, daily bible reading plan that sustains the spirit and keeps it from being broken. It's the planning and planting and feeding and watering and pruning that produces some fruit, somewhere in your life, sometime in the future.
Here's my advice for you: Practice imperfection.
Follow through with your commitments, even though you can't keep them perfectly. It will get you a lot further than most of the sentimental, well intentioned, five minute resolutions we make.
One of the reasons resolutions fail is that too often we have an image of perfection in mind. "I'm going to run 5 miles, 5 times a week, every week this year!" That's just not realistic. It only takes an illness, a crisis, a deadline at work and you've failed to keep your resolution. And once you fail, quite frankly the dreamy sheen of new years perfection has gone. It would be much better to say "I'm going to exercise regularly this year, whether I feel like it or not" - and then plan things accordingly, day-by-day and week-by-week. And don't expect to do it perfectly, or wait for perfect conditions. So you would like to go for a 45 minute walk in the sun but something's come up and you can't fit it in today. Ok. Take a 20 minute walk instead, in the rain with your wellies on. Perfect? No. Beneficial? Yes.
In order to read your bible, you imagine that you need an hour of uninterrupted time, in your favourite leather chair with a steaming cappuccino on the side-table. Perfect; But life isn't and so learn to read it anytime, anywhere. Take (even try to make) the perfect environment when possible - great. But don't rely on it.
Imperfect action, wins over perfect in-action every single time. Turn off the TV, get off the couch and practice imperfect life - and be ok with it. Practice imperfect exercise, imperfect devotions, imperfect accounting, imperfect creativity, imperfect family time, imperfect routines and habits. Bask in the light of God's all encompassing grace.
And at the end of the year you will have had many imperfect, but health giving walks in the fresh air; Spent wonderfully imperfect but majestic times reading scripture and praying; Had many imperfect but hilariously-healing dates with your spouse that have kept your marriage strong and vital.
You will be bigger and better than before.
You will have lived imperfectly, but you will have lived.
Isn't that the point?

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