We are into a new year this coming week, and usually when we turn the page on a calendar or stay up until midnight wishing each other a Happy New Year, we are filled with hope and a sense of new beginnings: what are our goals and aspirations for the year ahead? Some of us make resolutions or plans for big changes that we often follow through for a short time before those plans fall by the wayside as life returns to its usual rhythm and we find ourselves in our usual patterns. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
No matter how far we stray from what we consider home, normal, or the path we expected for ourselves, whether it be a New Year’s resolution, the shifting reality of our lives as we face new challenges related to the pandemic, or whether we are displaced physically from our homes or have to go about our lives in different ways, God tells us that God will bring us home and take care of us.
Often when we make goals or changes in our lives, we bite off more than we can chew. We make goals that are too lofty, too challenging to maintain, or aren’t realistic. This can cause us to give up on our plans entirely instead of adjusting our goals to make it easier for us to feel successful in any changes we are wanting to make. If you are interested, there’s a concept called a smart goal that’s helpful in goal-setting: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound.
As I said above, though, whenever we try to make changes and shift the way we go about our daily lives, we often find ourselves shifting back into our regular patterns of being eventually. This is completely normal, and we all do it. We just need to be aware enough of the fact that our patterns have shifted and reassess our goals. And when that seems impossible, perhaps we can turn to God for guidance, support, and comfort.
In this week’s reading from Jeremiah, God is talking to the Israelites who have been banished into exile. The Israelites were questioning their relationship with God: the land that God had promised them was taken away from them and they didn’t know what to expect next. Instead of being a God of judgement that we often see in the Old Testament, here God is upheld as a comforter and a protector. God promises to rescue and care for his people.
No matter how far we stray from what we consider home, normal, or the path we expected for ourselves, whether it be a New Year’s resolution, the shifting reality of our lives as we face new challenges related to the pandemic, or whether we are displaced physically from our homes or have to go about our lives in different ways, God tells us that God will bring us home and take care of us.
Also, if you are among those who, like me, have no desire to set new goals and aspirations for the year and just find yourself wandering, trying to make sense of shifting realities day by day, I want you to know that you’re not alone. It’s ok to not be filled with hope right now. It’s ok to want the world to change around you without. God is with us no matter how we are feeling right now, and God will comfort and protect us in God’s own way and in God’s own time (no matter how frustrating it can be that God has God’s own sense of what “timely” means). God will gather us in from however far we wander, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
As you read this week’s reading from Jeremiah, pick out some words of comfort and ponder them for a bit. Maybe write them down on a piece of paper over and over again as a form of prayer. You could say them out loud to yourself as an affirmation. Or you could put them in the notes app on your phone as a reminder to yourself when times are difficult, that God is with you wherever you are and will bring you back to where you need to be.