With the beginning of a new year, it’s always a great time for reflection and setting goals for what we hope to embrace with this new 12 months of growth and opportunities. As camp comes to an end every summer, it is always a great time to prepare for the new school year and set some resolutions for where we know we can be as the school year proceeds. It was fun these past weeks to catch up with some of our campers, LTs, CITs, and staff to see how they were doing with their resolutions and what exciting new goals they had set for 2017.
Collier wrote, “Last year was busy for me, but one thing that I kept in mind any time I started to feel overwhelmed, “Let God take care of you.” This one idea helped me both at camp and during the year while working on projects and assignments. And so, I’m really excited for the New Year for a couple of reasons. First, I’m going to be getting my hands dirty working on different projects at Rowan. Second, I’ll be working with a whole new group of people that I can bond and have fun with. Overall, I am eager to see what the amazing New Year brings!”
This is such a fun way to remind ourselves that meeting new people, as scary and hesitant as we may be at first, is always in and of itself a brand new adventure that could open up new opportunities and experiences we may not have had before. It’s always fun to see how campers stay connected throughout the year because of the awesome adventures they had over the summer! Going out of our comfort zone and meeting new people can lead to some really amazing and strong friendships that can not only supply yourself with a trusty support system, but give support and encouragements to others as well.
Simi wrote, “In 2017 I’m looking forward to growing spiritually and working on my relationship with God. I want to try and incorporate CS into my daily life more. I am so excited for the summer because I am going to be spending it will all my friends and just having an amazing time!”
Incorporating Christian Science into our daily lives can sometimes seem a bit daunting when we think that we have to set aside time each day to read the lesson. When we have really busy days, it sometimes may feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. But keeping a good thought for the day – whether it be something in the lesson you read, or maybe just your favorite quote, can always come in handy as you walk from one class to another, or make your commute to work. For me, it’s been really effective to take those times when I’m sitting around waiting for a class to start, or walking across campus and maybe I want to look at my phone to check social media. But if I can take those couple of minutes here and there to pull up JSH Online and every resource is available to you right with the tap of your finger.
Paige wrote, “This year, my New Years resolution centers around seeing everything and everyone as God’s perfect reflection. Since I am in my junior year of high school, my classes and schedule are pretty tough and full of surprises. When I find myself overwhelmed by any situation this year, I am going to take a moment to see the Truth in whatever I’m doing and remember my purpose is to glorify God.”
Abbie wrote, “My New Years resolution would be to remember that everyone is a child of God and I should love them, even when times get hard.”
Amy quoted, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight” -Proverbs 3:5-6
Rachel wrote, “My 2017 resolution is to not let stress and anxiety have power over me. It is easy to let stress become a constant in one’s life when faced with constant obligations and deadlines. In the past I would get caught up the idea that everyone has to experience stress and that it is part of life, but that is not the truth. The truth is that in God’s Kingdom – Divine Harmony – is the only power. Therefore, mortal mind has no power. I hope to strengthen my understanding of this idea and never again let stress take control.”
(From L-R: Paige, Abbie, Amy, Rachel)
These resolutions are so wonderful, because it stresses the importance of seeing everyone as a child of God. When we have hectic school or work schedules, and our classmates or coworkers may be getting slightly on our nerves, it’s oftentimes hard to remind ourselves that if we aren’t feeling completely certain of ourselves in our hectic lives, then maybe our coworkers and classmates aren’t as well. Seeing everyone as a child of God and knowing everyone (including you!) will be at the right place at the right time to do the tasks we have been given to the best of our abilities is all we can do in God’s eyes. Working together to achieve the same goal and pulling mortal mind aside to see the true nature of our work is always a great way to express the love and support God provides us with to share with others each day.
Shelby wrote, “The resolution I had set for myself is instead of being satisfied with reaching 99%, I want to push myself to reach 100%. I want to feel accomplished with the hard work I’ve completed. Determination and keeping on track is key to reaching this goal.”
We can always be so excited at the beginning of the year to start our resolutions out right! But as the year progresses, I know I’m one of those people who definitely slowly stops to use their planner, or lets one minor assignment slide if I feel I have a bigger task at hand. But God has provided us with more energy and ingenuity than we can ever know, and that in and of itself should help drive us to do our best and express those God given abilities and talents we have been blessed with. Giving your 100% effort and determination is showing that 100% trust in God that you can get done what needs to be done, and do a great job doing it!
It looks like we’re out to a great start to bring in the New Year! What are your New Year Resolutions? Happy New Year to everyone and we hope you have a wonderful and exciting 2017!
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