Priorities in the New Year

On Tuesday, I attend the monthly devotions held by the agency I work for. The entire building our agency is located in is invited, and someone different from my agency always leads the devotions. This month my friend and colleague, Kim, was leading. I was completely touched and motivated by Kim’s words, and I asked her if I could share them with you. She agreed on the condition that I place my reflections on the post along with her words. So, the rest of this post is an intermingling of Kim’s words and my thoughts. I pray they touch you, as you will see I have been. Kim described to us how when “we buy new calendars for the coming year, for a fleeting moment, the pages are blank and it looks as though the possibilities for each day are endless. It seems like a fresh start. Like a chance to do new things or a chance to do things in a new way.” This description is so amazing to me, while at the same time hard to grasp. I think I am a pretty organized person…ok, I am a bit anal…but I like to have a specific style of calendar, and I buy it months before the year is to begin. I carry two calendars around for the last couple of months of each year, so that if a meeting or appointment is scheduled, I can be sure to write it in the new calendar. So, really my “new calendar” is already becoming filled when New Year’s Day arrives. However the one thing that is always new is where the calendar starts each time I open it. At the end of the year, there are so many pages that I have to turn to get to that day, but at the start of a new year it is always at the beginning. With Kim’s words, I am reminded that my calendar does not have to be a place where all the possibilities already exist…it is a new beginning where many new possibilities and opportunities can grow. Kim then shared a passage from Isaiah in “The Message, it reads, “Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I’m creating.” Kim expressed how “in the passage in Isaiah, it is very specific as to what God is creating and therefore, that which we should be excited about. This passage speaks of God’s priorities for God’s new creation: -To stop the early death of God’s children and instead provide environments and opportunities for people to live long lives -To break down unjust economic systems and instead enable people to provide for themselves and their families and to have work with dignity -To break down barriers and boundaries and instead build community amongst unlikely groups -To end war and violence and instead have peace with justice.” Kim also expressed how she believes “there remain many challenges in translating these priorities into guiding principles for our daily actions and interactions. The New Year provides an opportunity to pause and examine whether our priorities for the New Year are God’s priorities for the new creation.” I could not agree more…the following examples will convey my reflections on this passage and Kim’s thoughts. Kim gave two examples to show how God’s priorities are not always in line with the priorities of the world, or with us. First, she discussed the recent delegation of high level United Methodists who went to the Philippines to investigate and call for an end to the killings of human rights workers, including clergy, laity, and journalists. This delegation has formally asked the President of the Philippines to intercede on the behalf of those being targeted (read more at http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=3757). Kim had discussed this situation with a friend though email, her friend responded by say the situation was getting worse. Though the day Kim received this email, she had many other emails in her inbox that she could provide easy and concrete responses to, it was this email that made her “reexamine how she will work in 2006, asking what will guide her priorities for answering these emails? Ease of response? Concrete timeline? Or God’s priority of life?” Kim’s second example was of the coal mining accident in West Virginia. She discussed how this weeks “mainstream news coverage of the mining accident talked about the funerals which were taking place around West Virginia. Last week the coverage focused on the erroneous report, which was released announcing that the miners were alive. As we hear the story of the miners, how do we examine what to take from this situation? Will we only acknowledge that this happened or will we ask why it happened? Will we hear the fact that the US Mine and Safety Administration had filed 208 alleged violations against the mining company in the last year? Will we ask questions about our global economic structure, which time after time after time values profit over people? Will we listen to the priorities of the mainstream corporate news media to keep status quo? Or will we let ourselves to be guided by God’s priority for a just economic system?” As I listened to Kim, I was also struck by what priorities will organize my life in 2006, what priorities will be in my calendar…how will I follow God’s priorities for my life…how will I see them, know them? I am one of those people who God needs to strike with lightening to get me to see something. I continue to remind myself that God never guaranteed life would be easy or have concrete answers…only the strength to get through. For my entire life I have been puzzled by the economic system that operates on this planet (ok, so as a child I did not know it was called an “economic system”…but I knew what it meant not to have the same things as others). In the last decade, I have become more and more aware of God’s position on this issue…God did not send Jesus to live and work with the rich and famous, but to stand in solidarity with the poor and oppressed. To ask the hard questions. I believe with all of my being that as a child of God, I am here to serve everyone because every human is a child of God, and if that means asking the hard questions or having an unpopular opinion, than that is the priority God has placed in front of me. Justice is God’s priority. Peace is God’s priority. Those fighting for human rights in the Philippines and those asking why the mining company was still operating with 208 violations are seeking peace and justice in this world. This is why I make these my priorities—because I seek peace and justice for all of God’s children. I can only pray that in 2006 I allow God to create in me the actions that match these priorities, God’s priorities, and I rely on God’s strength to follow through. I am sorry this has been so long, but I felt Kim’s words were so poignant, that I had to share them with you…and Kim (and Barbara!) were right, It was just as important for me, to share with you my reflections. Thank you Kim (and all of you) for being such an inspiration. Peace and blessings, Lauren