What will the new year mean to you?

The Christmas season, as many know it, ends the day after Christmas. Other churches believe it lasts until the Epiphany.

It isn't long after the holiday, you began to think of celebrating the new year. Perhaps parties are on your agenda, the New Year's welcoming ceremony at midnight or you may have a list of changes you're going to make this coming year.

Many people will say they aren't going to make any new year's resolutions because they never stick to them anyway. Whether you finish what you intend, it is still a laudable feat to attempt to improve. One should finish what one starts, but, at the very least, it shows an effort toward growth.

Every day truly is the first day of the rest of your life. It's very comforting to know that regardless of how bad things become in life, there is always a new day with each sunrise. Often someone says, "Nothing good ever happens to me anyway, so why try?" Someone else may think he's such a failure there's no use in trying.

You must know that you are never alone in what you attempt. If you're Christian, or even belong to another spirituality or religion, you know there's help from that higher power. Isaiah 41:13 writes, "I the Lord thy God will hold your right hand, saying unto you, 'Fear not.'" If you really desire to change a habit, begin school, attempt a new career, lose weight or pursue whatever your dream is, you have to have confidence in yourself.

If you lack confidence, you have to work hard to overcome that vice. You were made in the image of God. God made everything to be perfect. He brings strength and ability out of weakness. If you read Scripture, it wasn't the rich, smart, talented or beautiful that God chose to win the battles and witness to his power.

One example of weakness becoming strength and the small accomplishing feats of greatness was in the Scripture about David and Goliath. David killed the giant Goliath with a slingshot. How would you feel if you had been in the place of David? I'm sure he was petrified, but he summoned every bit of courage he could find within himself, aimed his weapon and with excellent precision, he hit the giant right in the middle of the forehead. Wow! What a feat of marksmanship!

Evidently David had been practicing with his slingshot for a while and he was better than he thought. He had no choice except to fight Goliath so he prayed and took a stab in the dark, so to speak. His faith in God indeed paid off. After that badge of courage, David later became king of Israel. When you fear that you can't attain a goal, remember how disadvantaged David was and derive confidence from his experience.

The way you can fail is to not try. Failure is not being unable to reach your goals, but it lies in not trying. If last year did not meet your expectations, look in the mirror and you may find the reason why. Perhaps YOU were to blame. You lacked confidence and did not make the effort, you did not choose to put the work into what you envisioned. You thought about and talked about your dreams, yet you did little to accomplish them. Most reasons for success or failure can be found and seen simply by looking into the mirror. That is the person who's responsible.

Galatians 6:9 provides courage when it says, "Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not." In other words, regardless of how rough your road seems, keep on going and you will eventually reach your goal. You will reap the rewards of what your efforts have been directed toward. So, when you ask, "What will the new year mean to me, respond with 'Whatever I make it.'" And then, you go and look into the mirror.