Turning the Page

I often feel when New Year’s Day arrives that my life is like a book, and I’ve just turned the page to begin a new chapter. As I begin to write, there are central themes and a main plot that don’t change. There is consistency in the midst of the twists and turns of my story. For me, my main throughlines are my personality, my faith in God, relationships with my husband and daughter, and passion to write. Responsibilities, relationships, and how I fulfill the callings in my life, ebb and flow due to my own and other’s choices. These are like the changing seasons of the year, even while the earth remains constant around its own axis. Or it’s like the characters acting out subplots while the main theme runs steadily through the story. But now I’m mixing my metaphors! The point is that there are central, unchanging throughlines that remain fixed - whether like the earth’s axis in an annual revolution of seasons, or a storyplot that stays true throughout a novel. Identifying and nurturing our core person and values keeps us anchored and helps inform how we handle the changes swirling around us.

Self-knowledge and self-care need to be foundational to our plans and goals because our love for others must come from a place of health and strength. How can we be lights in the darkness if our fuel is burned out and used up? Like the five wise virgins who thought to bring extra oil for their lamps, we can best be ready to follow God’s promptings when we have nurtured ourselves by restoring our spiritual, mental, and physical capacities. (see Matthew 25:1-10)

“Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways.’ “ ~Haggai 1:5

This is why the turning of the year is an ideal time to reevaluate our lives and recommit to goals and values. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have usually been a thoughtful time for me. My personality leans toward the contemplative, so the idea of writing out New Year’s Goals has always appealed to me. Over the years I’ve learned to use this time as an opportunity for reflection, evaluation, and, yes, resolution. But I’ve also learned to treat myself with grace and gentleness, and to adjust my goals accordingly. As we step into a New Year, I’d like to share a few simple keys that help me remember who I am and recalibrate. 

Key #1 - How I will stay organized this year

I believe the foundation to living on purpose is knowing how we’re going to plan, manage our time, and basically keep track of everything. Life is full of complexities. Knowing what works for us is essential to being able to function and have peace. Each person is different. If you don’t already know what works for you, spend time looking at the organizational tools, apps, and planners that are available. In my experience, the least complicated tools are best. Personally, I use a planner with a Week at a Glance format that has plenty of space to write tasks each day while keeping the whole week in view. Working from a master To Do List, I write tasks in on the planner’s daily timeslots.

Key #2 - My Life Purposes

This is the place where I remember who I am as well as my main passions and purposes in life. Usually there are a few overall purposes that are woven through the entire fabric of my life (such as my faith in God, my marriage, and my particular calling to write). Some years, there are purposes that last a season, and it’s important to discern which things are short-term versus long-term. Keeping a finger on these pulses helps me recognize when a season is passing so I can let it go and reprioritize, shifting my focus to other life purposes.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman

Key #3 - My Personal Reading List

This part of my New Year’s Goals is my secret strategy for staying engaged in personal growth. Because reading is an action, it ensures I’m doing something about the areas in which I want to improve. After evaluating what needs strengthening and maturing, I carefully choose relevant books to read throughout the year. Books are selected for various life categories such as marriage, parenting, health, and spiritual disciplines. Reading from my planned booklist throughout the year keeps my attention on where I want to grow, and books give me tools and applications to try along the way. Even if I don’t accomplish all of my resolutions, reading helps me make progress, and I’ve learned to accept this with grace. Progress is a better goal than perfection. 

So, those are my basics.

This is not a time for pumping myself up or giving myself unrealistic challenges. Instead it’s a reflective time, a time to treat myself with gentleness. Remembering the essence of who I am and what I’m meant to do is grounding, comforting and reassuring. Giving myself a fresh reading plan inspires personal and spiritual growth. I really try to keep it that simple.

As we head into 2026, I wish for you, my friends, to know deep inside that you are loved by the One who made you. May your life be abundant in what matters most this New Year!

“Once I have accepted the truth that I am God’s beloved child, unconditionally loved, I can be sent into the world to speak and to act as Jesus did.” - Henri Nouwen

by Heather J. Willis, author