"Remember Lot's Wife"

Last year Elder Holland gave a devotional at BYU that I only happened to catch because Henry slept longer than usual. Not only did a poem he shared form the foundation for a very troublesome essay for my history of the south class, it greatly increased my desire to forgive and look forward with faith.

I decided I should read or watch it at the beginning of every new year. I noticed they printed it in the Ensign this month (though far too much cropped) but I think there is something added to it by hearing him give the talk: http://www.byub.org/talks/Talk.aspx?id=3403

Here are a few portions of the talk:

"The start of a new year is the traditional time to take stock of our lives and see where we are going, measured against the backdrop of where we have been. I don’t want to talk about New Year’s resolutions, but I do want to talk about the past and the future, with an eye toward any time of transition and change in our lives—and those moments come virtually every day."


".. attachment to the past outweighed... confidence in the future."

"Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?

To all such of every generation, I call out, 'Remember Lot’s wife.' Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11).

Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep."

With that in mind, I've made some goals for the year that I hope will build on the past, help me better enjoy the present and prepare for the future.

Happy New Year!