A Radical Resolution

For the start of the New Year, Maria Riley is making a different kind of resolution.

I’m still trying to figure out where 2023 went. I’ve always loved the expression, “The days are long, but the years are short.” This past year had some very long days, but as the year comes to a close, I can’t help but feel like it was a blink.

Every New Year, people make resolutions for the upcoming year. Often, these resolutions build around personal goals like weight loss or professional aspirations. Gym memberships spike in January, and new habits are implemented. Inevitably, after weeks or sometimes months, the trips to the gym die down and new habits are long forgotten.

Some people commit to spiritual resolutions, recognizing that the most important place for improvement is in their own relationship with God. Increased prayer time, Bible studies, or a particular devotional may seem like the obvious choice, but I believe we’re still missing something.

(Quick note: if you’re not reading or hearing Scripture daily, you’re missing out on God talking to you. Stop reading this right now and pick up your Bible. Reading the Daily Gospel is a perfect place to start and not too overwhelming. Seriously, this is not the sort of thing that you should wait for the New Year to start. Unless you’re gonna start the Bible in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz, which I’ve done twice and cannot recommend highly enough.)

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Our lives have become BUSY. And I mean busy. We hardly have time to just sit and be with our family members, let alone God. Noise, in the form of music, conversations, television, social media ... the list goes on, constantly keeps us distracted and stressed out. There’s always more that needs to be done. There’s always more money that can be made. There’s always one more post to read or one more episode to watch. There’s always, always, always something going on.

I recently heard on The Endow Podcast that the word "busy" stands for Being Under Satan’s Yoke. Whoa. Sit with that one for a minute. I know this hits hard for me. I’m always the most stressed, impatient, and cranky when there’s more to do than I have time for. When I’m overwhelmed and running late, that is when I’m snapping at my kids and treating my husband like an opponent instead of a partner. That’s when my life least resembles Christ’s.

As we come to the time of year to set goals and resolutions for ourselves, I want to encourage you to throw out any plans of adding something to your plate. Don’t try to exercise every day. Don’t plan to read 30 pages each night. Don’t add one more thing to your already BUSY life.

Click to tweet:
As we come to the time of year to set goals and resolutions for ourselves, I encourage you to throw out any plans of adding something to your plate. #CatholicMom

As we enter the New Year, resolve to do less. Find something in your life that you can cut out that will enable you to hear God’s voice in your life. Instead of squeezing one more thing into your day (or, more likely, failing to squeeze one more thing in and feeling like a failure), give yourself permission to take something off your plate. By doing less, we can free up more time for what really matters: spending time in prayer and with the family God calls us to love selflessly.

Examine your schedule and discover where you can cut something out. If you’re struggling to come up with anything, here are a few ideas:

Mute the radio in the car and embrace the silence.
Skip the nightly Netflix binge and converse with your spouse.
Stay home from the gym and have a dance party with your kids to stay fit.
Turn off all notifications on your phone so it doesn’t constantly demand your attention.
Cut back on your kids’ extracurriculars and enjoy family meals together.

Let 2024 be your best year yet—by striving for less.

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