A new year

photo by Greg Lincoln

by Greg Lincoln

We welcome the New Year and are looking forward to see what it has in store for us. We will not know what is coming up unless we keep going forward.

Do you do new years resolutions? A new year resolution is when you decide or resolve to do something that involves changing your life in order to achieve a goal. These goals may include wanting to stop a bad habit, or changing your behavior to succeed in something.

Common resolutions include exercising more, losing weight, decluttering your house or closet, finishing those projects that you started but never had time to finish, taking a trip, reading that book you’ve always wanted to, or learning a new trade. And since we are unique, the list can go on and on because we are as different from one another as can be.

There is one thing that we share though, and that is our beloved homeland that we live on. We also share common bonds of language, family, and culture. We are a team.

This year we resolved to take a trip to visit a place that we have never been to before. We can count that as done, thank you Lord. We are thankful – when we look back to a year ago, going on a trip did not appeal to us at the time. How far and how long we have come since then and we are grateful.

No matter where we go, home will always be home.

Through the struggles that come with bereavement and the moments of when grief reminds us of the losses that we bear, we can try find it in ourselves to set goals, our new year resolutions amidst this burden of grief that we carry. These may also be continuations of what we already may be doing.

One goal is to always always forever never endingly continue to say your loved one’s name. Make it ever the household word, let it flow from your lips with unfettered ease, without any hesitation, speak it to your loved ones and friends daily, and always think of them in all that you do.

Another is to continue living life the way your loved one would like you to. They would not want you to wallow away (although this is a part of grieving, especially at the beginning) all the time. They would want you to find therapy in the things that you enjoyed doing and to continue doing them.

And thirdly, a very good goal is to get up and exercise. Even if you are sad, you can still take a walk if you choose to. Your grief will still be with you, you can still grieve and still do stuff. Can you open your mind and imagine doing that?

So if you think learning a new language, taking up a hobby such as learning how to cook or bake something new, or learning how to play a musical instrument sounds good – we hope to inspire you to do it. And what about making a new friend? There is always someone you can talk to and befriend. They may become a friend for life.

Quyana for walking with us through the hard times, sometimes sad times, and also the good. Prayers continually, thank you so much.