A new year! An opportunity for a fresh start! These days I think of the beginning of a year not so much as a time to make resolutions about what we will or won’t do in the coming year. Rather I see it as a time to ponder our lives and to review the past year including our dreams and hopes, the times that were disappointing, the experiences that were satisfying or meaningful. It’s also an opportunity to look at our personal growth, the person we think we are, the person we really are, and the person we would like to become.

Looking back over the past year, I want to consider when and how my life had meaning, or when it did not. I plan to ask myself if I have been faithful to doing spiritual practices like being present or paying attention, what has given me hope or helped me to grow, when I have felt discouraged or enthusiastic.

I know that if I am open to the little gifts of life, I can feel joy and pleasure. The last couple of days I’ve experienced some of those amazing ‘little joy gifts’ that have touched my heart: listening with pride as my great niece played the piano, watching the colors of a sunset, playing peek-a-boo with a precious seven-month-old child on an airplane, seeing a teenage boy offer his seat to an elderly lady on the subway. Yes, ordinary things, but sheer joy!!

At the end of 2011 and the start of 2012, I’m also thinking about my relationship with the Divine, remembering those times when I have neglected it as well as those times when I felt the relationship was deepened because I was ‘plugged in.’ In this new year, I want so much to feel God’s Presence in my life, to draw closer to God’s heart, and to experience hope. Joyce Rupp says it so well in her prayer poem “Standing at the Gates of the New Year.”

‘Guardian of this new year,
I set aside my fears, worries, concerns,
I open my life to the endless opportunity
of discovering you in my relationships,
and to all the silent wisps of wonder
that will draw me to your heart.
I welcome your unfailing Presence
and walk with hope into this new year.’

Guardian of life, thank you for your unfailing Presence. We want so much to set aside our fears and concerns and to be open to the wonder of a relationship with you. Help us to learn to be more open to the little gifts and opportunities in life and to walk in hope with you throughout this new year. Amen.

Joy Carol
www.joycarol.com