Article December 27, 1999 ISSUE

New Year's resolutions Who needs them?

Make a lifelong resolution to let Christ into your life.

By Nancy Louise Ranks

Every New Year's Eve, my friends and I used to resolve to stop doing something. Like smoking. The first year I firmly resolved to stop smoking, my resolution lasted about two hours into the new year.

Another year, some of us resolved to lose weight by not eating sweets. My effort in that direction quickly fell by the wayside. Over the years my friends and I made many resolutions, but none of us ever managed to keep any of them.

Eventually, God became a greater influence in my life. I still felt the urge to make a resolution about something on New Year's Eve. But what could I resolve to do that I would do? I no longer wanted to make promises to myself that I could not keep. Breaking a promise to myself now seemed very wrong; it felt like lying to myself. I also realized that our resolution making had been based upon self-will rather than upon the fact that God, through divine wisdom, supports right decisions by providing right ideas and right actions. I remembered this sentence from Science and Health: "Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action" (p. 454 ). This told me that if my motive was pure, then God would give me all the ideas and strength I needed to carry the idea to fruition. This in turn would liberate me from something or give me the freedom to accomplish something.

I finally understood that there was really only one thing that I needed to resolve: to allow more of the Christ, the divine influence that heals and saves, into my life each day. With God's ever-present help and guidance, I knew that this would be an easy resolution to keep. I also realized that I did not have to wait for New Year's Eve to make this resolution. I could resolve now to do this today and every day.

I found several ways to help keep my resolution. I studied the Christian Science Quarterly Weekly Bible Lessons more thoroughly and found them spiritualizing my thinking, letting more of the Christ consciousness govern my life. Attending church also contributed to my spiritual growth. Even if I was not feeling well I would still go, and I often returned home healed of whatever had been bothering me. Good activities increased daily as I rejoiced in God's love for humanity.

I have no problem keeping this resolution. I renew it daily, and it renews and refreshes me.

Along the way, I was healed of the smoking habit. There were many other healings as well. I also realized that Primary class instruction in Christian Science would be very helpful to me and that it, too, would promote and support my ongoing resolution to allow Christ into every aspect of my daily life. I explored that idea and eventually took the two-week course.

I did not need to make new and different resolutions each year. All I had to do was daily resolve to allow Christ into my life. I have no problem keeping this resolution. I renew it daily, and it renews and refreshes me. And when New Year's Eve rolls around, I rejoice that I've already resolved to do the one thing that is most important to me.

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