New Year | Center for Human Development

Victory for Today

By chdwebsite 06 Jan, 2018 Counselor's Corner New Year, Resolutions

I spent several months looking forward to Christmas, and as soon as it was here, I was looking forward to New Years. On New Year’s Eve, I was already thinking about the next big project before the ball even dropped.

The Holiday season is barely behind me and a busy Northwoods Winter is still before me. Already, the retail stores are looking forward to Valentine’s day and in some cases, St. Patrick’s Day.

I have a tendency in my western culture to live in the moment while planning for the next. I live on a perpetual treadmill of excited anxiousness for what’s next. In a business sense, this is marketable wisdom; but in holistic living, it may cause anxiety as well as a plethora of other imbalances in life.

There is wisdom in planning for tomorrow, but if it keeps me from fully embracing the moment I am in – from recognizing the presence of abundant provision and grace for now – then there is something unbalanced in my enjoyment of now and my concern for tomorrow.

I wonder if we need to be reminded that life isn’t simply about preparing for, planning for, and investing in – tomorrow. We have today. We are not promised anything more. Our Creator wants us to be wise about tomorrow, but not at the expense of today.

The enemy uses our insecurities and failures, the failures of others, and the circumstances of the broken world to bring us down; to cause worry and strife of all kinds. However, the great promise of our Savior is that he is always with us. Take a look at this promise:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

We can be certain that the future is not going to be perfect, but as the famous minister and civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy said, “I may not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future”. I can live fully in this moment and focus on what I need to in this moment, allowing it to last as long as it needs to; because tomorrow is already in His hands.

Let me share one more verse with you:

“Bear one anothers burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

Sometimes, the Truth doesn’t match what we are experiencing. That doesn’t mean the Truth isn’t real. It means there is something wrong with our interpretation of the experience, or our application of the Truth to that experience. That’s why we need each other. Sometimes we need help figuring it out. With His promise in mind and the provision of others who are able to help, we can be victorious in just living today.

Be encouraged in the reminder that you are not alone and that there are brothers and sisters in Christ all around who can help

So, who will have victory today? You? Or the treadmill?

Whatever

By chdwebsite 25 Jan, 2017 Uncategorized Change, God, New Year, Resolution, Resolutions

I recently read a verse in the bible and reflected on both the simplicity of it and the enormity of it. The verse is found in 1 Corinthians 10:31, and reads, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” The challenge is to do ALL to the glory of God. The word “ALL” encompasses everything – short three letter word with big implications. I smiled when I read the simple example the text gives – eating and drinking. Now we all (there’s that word again!) can identify with that. We all need to eat and drink to survive. In this country most of us eat and drink on a daily basis, and often without any thought…we’re hungry we eat…we’re thirsty and we grab a glass of water, easy right? Certainly for many of us this is easy, but unfortunately for others, this isn’t so easy. Yet the text challenges us to eat or drink to the glory of God. I wonder how many of us take that to heart. How often do I ask myself if what I’m consuming is to the glory of God, how often do you? Finally, there’s that phrase I skipped until now, “…or whatever you do…” I guess that covers ALL things; your thoughts, your feelings, your words, your actions, everything.

Life is a gift God has given us, one that is to be lived in every aspect, both the simple and the complex, to the glory of God! Maybe when you wake up in the morning you can reflect on this verse and challenge yourself in how you think, feel, and act – to do it to the glory of God. Maybe the next time a driver cuts you off you can “whatever” him, and send up a prayer on his behalf.

I hope this gives you a deeper perspective on life; everything we do has significance – big things, little things, “whatever” things we do, do all to the glory of God. Now that’s not just a New Year’s resolution, it’s a life resolution!!

Erin Morgan is a licensed professional counselor at the Center with over 20 years of counseling experience. Erin says this about her work as a therapist, “I enjoy working with individuals in a wide variety of areas including depression, anxiety, parenting, and communication skills. Of particular interest to me is supporting individuals who struggle with a hurtful or abusive past and helping them with the pain that can negatively impact the present”. She sees clients in our Wausau location. To learn more about Erin, or to set up an appointment click here.

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