January 2019
Reflections of God's Goodness
Our hearts are full of gratitude for the coming of Christ, celebrated as the crowning of our year. We rejoice because we are the people of God, loved, blessed and called by Him.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you . . . so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that lasts, and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
How often we forget that we have been chosen by Christ!
As the old year ends, we tend to look back and reflect on how well we lived. We imagine ways our lives might be better. We anticipate increased good in the days ahead and yet, we so easily slide back into survival mode and do the same things, in the same way, with the same attitude, day after day, week after week, until it becomes year after year!
What can we do differently this time? We can bring Christ into our process, decisions and opportunities of the New Year.
“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
Be bold. Take action! Imagine how your life would change if you tried to live each moment of the new year as an opportunity for new life.
Scripture tells us to ask for what we need, to seek the good we want to find. So, let’s seek God’s wonderful grace to help us approach life from a relational perspective. We can love one another by being intentionally present to each person we encounter. Looking for grace, God’s will working within us, will help us find greater meaning in the ordinary moments of our lives.
This year, take God at His word. Live a holy life by looking for and acting on the grace given us in Christ Jesus. May the Christ who came to save us lead us to “His own purpose and grace” in this New Year.
Blessings and Peace,
Sister Mary Ann Barnhorn, SNDdeN
Behold, I make all things new.
