I'm not one for New Years resolutions. I don't think a New Year allows you to suddenly do things you couldn't do before, like in November. But I think that there are certain times when you are able to suddenly break through problems that have plagued you. There are sacred spaces, thresholds that arise where you are able to move forward. These threshold places are usually preceded by dry desert experiences, where nothing moves. Where, despite your best efforts, nothing wants to go your way. After expending tons of energy you end up sitting, exhausted, waiting for 'the next thing' to turn up. It seems to me we often need to come to the end of our current self to be able to cross a threshold to new growth.
I have noticed as I emerge out of a desert season into a time of new opportunities how much people are starved of encouragement in our culture. In a society where our worth is measured in our economic production skills I think we are desperate to know that we matter, just because we exist. In an atmosphere of intense competition for jobs, status and even a life partner there are many who are feeling the strain in their soul. I have realised that in our busyness we often don't take time to appreciate the good in others, or if we do, we don't tell them.
As I enjoy this new season of my life I want to encourage those who are still sitting in the desert. I want my friends and family to know what I appreciate about them. That they have many qualities that I think are awesome, that I really value them. My parents and relatives are getting older. I want them to know this before they pass away, and not just deliver a nice speech at a funeral where they can't hear it. May we all be blessed with the ability to encourage each other more, to stand up against the cultural view that we are only cogs in an economic machine. And may we do it before its too late.
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