Willing to be ready

I'm one of those people who actually makes New Year's resolutions.  I even supplement the short term annual resolutions with multi-year resolutions, not just for me but for my family too.  Like, in 2012, I wrote down stuff that my family and I would do by the end of 2021 - a ten year period!  It's cool to read what we thought in 2012, and see which parts endured and we actually managed to do, which parts evolved and we did in a different form, and which parts we realised were dumb and we dropped!

I kind of think that resolutions need to have at least two dimensions in order to be effective.  First, they need to focus on who we want to be.  Like, to be financially independent.  To be fit and healthy.  To be a generous friend.  That's important because it focuses on the core "why" of the resolution.  If a resolution is only to do something - let's say, to earn 10% more this year, but there's no underlying "why" of being financially independent, then you might end up earning more, but also spending more!

The converse is also true.  Resolutions which only have a "why" but no "how" are doomed to fail.  If my resolution is to be fit and healthy, great, but... how?  So to me, a good resolution says something like - I resolve to be fit and healthy (the "why"), by going to the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and swimming once on the weekend (a very specific "how").

One of my New Year resolutions is to be rudimentarily conversant in a new language for my mission work (my "why").  That's a nice resolution.  But how?  By completing enough lessons to hit a 50 point milestone in a language app on my phone every day - takes about 10-15 minutes (my "how").

So those are the mechanics of formulating effective resolutions.  But there's something even more fundamental to resolve before making resolutions.  And that is that we have actually got to want to grow.

There's a devious little voice in our head says - nah, it's too difficult.  Nah, I'm satisfied with where I am.  Nah, I'll wait till I've sorted out my finances/family/personal happiness.  The question is, are we teachable enough, and humble enough to look at ourselves and say, maybe I'm ok, but I can be better.  I can be more generous.  I can be more useful to others.  I can be closer to God.  I can grow.  I can grow starting today.

I'm so glad that God has surrounded me with mentors who challenge me to grow.  In my career, I have had the privilege of bosses who tell me where I fall short.  They're challenging me - you can grow!  In my family, I have a wife and children who also tell me when I don't meet the mark as a husband and father.  They're challenging me - you can grow!  In my ministry, I have leaders who present me with tasks that I don't know how to do.  They're challenging me - you can grow!

It's also a great joy to be surrounded by people who consistently demonstrate to me that great quality of being humble and teachable enough to acknowledge that they can grow.  In the office, I have young colleagues who are open, even eager for correction for their work, because they want to grow.  I am blessed to have my own kids, who I can see applying the life lessons my wife and I share with them, and growing.  And it's not just young people who have to learn.  I am happy to have friends who, when I urge (and yes, sometimes nag) them, say, yes, I will grow, and then even more importantly, act on it straightaway!

What's the most common thing that prevents someone from saying, yes I want to grow, and acting on it?

"I'm not ready"!

The fact is, no one's ever ready for change, or to grow.  If we think we're in the process of comfortable change or growth, then the chances are that it's not actually change or growth.  No one's ever ready before they get married.  No one's ever ready before they actually become parents.  No one's ever ready before they decide to change however many decades of inertia to do something new.  We've got to take the leap, and then, we grow.

When I was recently challenged to do something new, we naturally had a family meeting to discuss it - pros, cons, are we ready etc.

My daughter woke up the next day, and said, hey she had a dream.  There was a huge and fearsome dragon, setting everything around it on fire.  She thought, that dragon is only in my mind - it's actually just a little salamander, like the one in Frozen 2, that I don't have to be afraid of.

But the funny thing is, in the dream, she realised, NOPE it's not a little salamander.  It really is a massive dragon.  Now what??!

And then she heard a voice.

If you are willing to be ready, you are ready to be used.

Then she knew that even if it really was a massive dragon, she could defeat it. And she woke up.

Sometimes, the challenge that lies ahead of us is smaller than we think.  In those situations, we can muster our courage and charge ahead, because the fact is, our strength outmatches that of the challenge before us.  It may look like a dragon, but it's really just a salamander.  We're ready.

But sometimes, the challenge really is massive and unyielding.  If we charge ahead on our own strength, we can't do it.  And that's where living life with and for God makes a difference.  It's no longer me, but Almighty God using me.  That dragon doesn't stand a chance.  It's not about whether I'm ready, but if I'm willing to be ready.  If I am willing to be ready, I am ready to be used.

As I head into 2020, let my heart be humble and teachable.  Where I must grow, let me grow.  Where I am not enough, let Him lead.  I'm willing to be ready.  I'm ready to be used!