5 New Things You Can Start Today To Change Your Life

It’s the dead of winter. The snow is incessant.

The cold chills from deep within. Spring seems an eternity away.

Behold, it’s time for a new thing! (Yes, that’s taken from Isaiah 43:19.)

Actually, here are five new things that you can start today to change your life:

Forgive the very last person who hurt you – Silently. Or in a letter. Or in a phone call. Or face-to-face. Even a text message. Do it sincerely. Do it with love. But do it. And truly forgive, not just mouth the words. Remember: As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us.
Talk to the next homeless person you see – Ask them their first name and tell them yours. Ask if they have had anything to eat today. Or if they have a way to get out of the cold later. If you can afford it, give them a gift card to a nearby Subway restaurant, or a McDonalds, or even a CVS. But no matter what, listen to them. Reach out your hand to touch theirs, but respect their refusal if it comes (it usually won’t). Let them know that they are seen and heard. Remember: this is the least of these.
Skip one meal – And give the money to a worthy charity that feeds or shelters the poor. During the time that you would have eaten that meal, imagine – really feel – the physical pain that arises from constant hunger, and the anxiety from not knowing when you will eat again. Feel the hunger. Offer it up. And remember: Christ both fasted and prayed constantly as a way to connect to the Father.
Contemplate just one aspect of beauty – Listen to Mozart. Walk through a forest or a park. Listen to the sounds of nature. Stare at the ocean and feel its power. Read a textbook on the universe, and think about its beginnings. Take note of the beauty in your family, your friends, even your job. Remember: He made everything beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Pray – Take 10 minutes to offer a prayer of gratitude. Raise up not one petition, not one single request. But appreciate all that is yours, all that you have – even if all you have remaining is the ability to contemplate your life and the possibility of new beginnings. Remember: pray without ceasing, and in and through all things.