Here I Raise my Ebenezer

I will not bore you here with a list of resolutions for the new year. First of all I usually write them in Korean so that I am the only one who knows if I keep them or not and second of all they are really not all that impressive or entertaining. I do however, have a stance that I have made and want to write down in English to help me keep it.

The ancient Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years due to their lack of faith and obedience. The entire doubting generation was denied access to the promised land and died instead in the wilderness. After crossing the River Jordan into Canaan Joshua received a command from the Lord to put up a pile of stones-an ebenezer, or sign to their children and children's children to stand through the generations showing that God blesses His children and as a sign that they would not go back to the disobedience of the wilderness. I think it is a beautiful image--stones--immovable and unchanging--serving as a reminder of the commitment and determination that has been made.

I am happy and blessed beyond what I have any right to wish for. My family is amazing, I have good friends, I love school, I always have enough to not starve, I love to learn, I have never been seriously ill or injured, I am learning to do something I love, I was born and raised to love the teachings of Jesus Christ, I know who I am and where I'm going and how I plan to get there. Honestly, what more could I ask for? All these blessings and yet I look back on my life and realize that there is one part of myself that I hate--a piece I long to shave off. So that is what I have done. I will leave it on the wilderness side of the river and set up my own ebenezer to remind me forever that I will not go back. I will not.

People's names will be safe with me. I will not make fun, laugh, or speak rudely of others. Each person has seeds of godhood. Each person around me is better than I am at many things. I have my own follies and plenty of faults--how can I hold others' mistakes against them? From this day on I will find the good in others and point it out to those around me. I will not speak poorly of or laugh at others behind their back or tease others in hurtful ways. Gossip will not be heard from my mouth. I know I will not be perfect at this, but it is my goal to learn to be that way.