Beyond Common Sense

I come from a long line of Germans even though my married name is MacAvoy!  My maiden name was Hummel, and I love the list of names among my ancestors: Roller, Zeiflie, Kilgus, Fisher…  So, there is never a question as to what we will eat for lunch today: pork and sauerkraut.  Why, you may ask if you descended from elsewhere!   Well, here’s the reasoning behind this rather unusual tradition:

You eat pork because pigs root forward; hence, you will have a prosperous New Year!  The first time I was away from home for the beginning of a year, I was with my future in-laws; we ate chicken!  Chickens scratch backwards – bad!  You don’t want to go backwards, do you?!!

Silly, isn’t it?  Sad to say, at some point in our superstitious backgrounds, someone believed all that!

Why do we do the things that we do?  Is there a reason for our actions?

It’s a New Year.  There’s something wonderful about a new start.  The slate is clean, fresh, with no mistakes or unreached goals!  We set our resolve to accomplish goals great and small, and as of today, we have not failed!  Perhaps that is why it’s a good thing to pause and check our motives for our expectations and actions: Am I determined to lose weight because my cloths don’t fit or because my arteries are getting clogged?  I’m going to be more faithful to attending church, because my kids need it or because I want to draw closer to God?  Is one reason more valid than the other?

As Tom and I ended last year, we talked about the future.  At our age, we possibly have ten, maybe fifteen more years of ministry.  As we look back over the past ten/fifteen years, it is amazing how quickly it passed by!  As the risk of sounding like an old person, I must say that the old saying is true: time continues to go faster and faster!

Ten to fifteen years: what can we accomplish?  What does God have planned? Will we be successful in His eyes?  What needs to change?  What do I need to “put on and put off” (Eph. 4:22-24) in order to be a better vessel for my Master’s use?

I challenge you to take stock of your walk with God.  What could you do to make your more like the Master?  What do you need to work on to become Christ-like?  It’s a wonderful time to ask yourself why you are who you are, and who it is that your gracious heavenly Father is directing you to become?

Happy New Year!

Only to be what He wants me to be,

Every moment of every day,

Yielding completely to Jesus alone

Every step of this pilgrim way.

Just to be clay in the Potter’s hands,

Ready to do what His will demands;

Only to be what He wants me to be,

Every moment of every day.