I was over New Year’s, until I wasn’t

A balancing act between using the holiday and being used by it

Up until the past few days, if you had referred to me as the grinch who stole New Year’s, you would not have been wrong.

In fact, New Year’s Eve 2020 was a dream come true for me. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t spending it with my family, which meant I had the freedom to crossover into the new year as I pleased.

What did I do?

I didn’t pray, I didn’t praise, and I didn’t party. I entered 2021 in bed – sleeping, just as I’d dreamed of.

What is it about New Year’s that makes me, and so many others, want to bury our heads in the sand?

For me, the disdain begins in mid-December. As the reality of the next year dawns on us, discourse on how best to end the year and start the new one begins. Christmas typically holds back the floodgates of propaganda, which are opened wide on December 26. Churches preach about finishing the year strong. Motivational speakers tell you how to set yourself up for greatness in twenty-twenty-insert-year. Friends and family set an endless list of resolutions. Suddenly, your life and aspirations all hinge on this singular event – a tick of the clock, a second’s change, meant to make a world’s difference. Not only is this unrealistic, but I find it to be extremely pressurising.

Who says my life goals must be set in 12-month tranches?

That’s what bothers me about New Year’s: the collective decision to treat each year as a standalone saving grave; the arbitrary goal setting and subsequent goal amnesia; the elusive promise of all things new, ignoring what already exists. It often seems like New Year’s resolutions can be anything but to continue on January 1 the life you were living on December 31. Yet, despite this, that is what most of us end up doing.

No one magically changes at 00:00 on January 1. No one suddenly has all the motivation they’ll need to stay in the gym for the rest of their lives. No one’s food preferences instantaneously shift from sugary to healthy. No one becomes an overnight prayer warrior. To put it in corporatespeak; there is no silver bullet.

I know all of this, I believe all of this, I disdain New Year’s – yet why did I, on December 26^th, find myself penning a list of New Year’s Resolutions?

Of course, I wouldn’t admit to myself that is what they were. Instead, I titled it ‘goals ahead of my 25^th birthday.’ I felt good about myself, better than the simpletons who set their goals based on calendar years. I must be superior to them, because I don’t define my life according to 12-month tranches….oh wait.

It took a few days for me to realise that I was no different from the type of person I was judging; one who knows they have areas to develop and want to set in place plans to do so, one who appreciates the natural deadlines which calendar dates give them, one who realises that we don’t have unlimited time on this earth and the clock is ticking. Really, the only difference between us is that while they were honest and transparent about their time-bound plans and aspirations, I attempted to hide behind a mask of condescension and idiosyncrasy.

“Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?” I would ask.
“No, I don’t really do those,” the response would be.
“Me neither. But I noted down some things I want to achieve before my 25^th birthday. Let me tell you what they are…”

I was trying so hard to fight the norm, to be different. And while I still maintain that no single date will magically change everything, I must also admit that a single date can mark the start of something new. Change happens the day we reflect on something suboptimal in our lives, accept the challenge of adjusting it, and make tangible plans to do so. For many of us, the end of a year – calendar or age – prompts that. And not only is it natural to set our goals according to time, but for those who are believers, it can also be scriptural.

The Bible tells us that there is a season for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Not only that, but God is the one who set those times and seasons for different activities to occur. In Genesis 1, the Lord outlines how He established day and night, and fulfilled creation according to those boundaries (He also introduces the concept of a week). In the book of Exodus, He expands on this by declaring a specific day for rest and reflection. The rest of the Torah gives instructions for different months, seasons, and year intervals. And so the calendar continues to play a significant role throughout the Bible. God makes timebound promises – of freedom from captivity, of provision, of prophecy fulfilment – and His people hold Him accountable to it. Even Jesus completed His mission according to the calendar; to be killed during Passover, symbolising Him as the lamb sacrificed for the sins of the world, and then to resurrect three days later.

Nature as well has missions to be completed according to specific dates. Some animals must migrate or hibernate at a certain time to stay alive or to reproduce. Women who want to give birth must get pregnant between menarche and menopause, whatever ages those occur at. Trees in the northern and southern hemispheres shed their leaves during the winter, a time when they are no longer needed.

It’s natural, human, and even godly to make plans according to time

It is also human, but neither natural nor godly, to hold ourselves to arbitrary (not necessary) deadlines.

I believe that’s where the middle ground lies for New Year’s.

The dawn of a new year is an exciting time. 365 days are set before of us, full of endless possibilities, giving us the perfect chance to turn a new leaf. The dawn of a new year is also a nervous time. 365 days have passed, with little-to-no progress made, and the pressure of time running out. I want people to know that it’s ok to give themselves a little more time. Just because you failed at something last year, doesn’t mean it needs to be abandoned. You don’t need a new target - you need to pick up where you left the old one and try again. I want people to know that it’s ok to change their lives at some point other than the start of the year. You don’t have to wait until a new year to become a better person - and you certainly shouldn’t. I want people to remember that the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath. Yes, a new year can be a new dawn for you, but it doesn’t have to be. As we enter into 2025, remember that you are bound to no deadline except God’s. As long as you are growing according to His timeline, you are right where you need to be today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life.

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