WS Chronicle

When I thought about my next topic for my opinion piece, I decided to write something inspirational and relatable for the new year.

Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions and I am no different. Over the years, I have made resolutions to get back in shape, to be a better person and parent, and even to read more books, just to name a few.

This year, the most important resolution I could think of was to be more committed to my relationship to God and more specifically, to make sure I give him thanks no matter what circumstances I am in.

What I have noticed about myself is when things are going well, I tend to stray away from giving God his praise as often as I should. But when things are going wrong, or I am going through a crisis, I am constantly talking to God, trying to find a way to get out of the issue or problem I am going through.

This is not the way I was raised and more importantly, not the way I should treat my heavenly father. I must make sure that I am thanking God when I am at the highest of highs, as well as when I am at my lowest of lows.

The most recent example I can think of is when I was going through a tough situation a little over a year ago, I was constantly praying to God to help me out of the turmoil I was in. I continued to pray and as He always does, God brought me out of the situation and I was in a better place in the end than I could have ever conceived.

Following that blessing, I began to fall off with my prayers and thanking the Lord for what he has done for me. It was not something I was doing consciously; it was more of me forgetting how great God has been to me, and that is wrong. I would think about how I went an entire week without praying to God before I went to bed, but when I was in trouble, I prayed every night. I must be more consistent than that.

Another example is when my car broke down many years ago. I really had no idea how I was going to buy another car. I was still making payments on this car and did not have the money to purchase a new one. I went to several dealerships and finally found a car that was in my price range, but I could not get approved due to dumb decisions I had made in my youth that affected my credit.

I almost gave up, but something told me to try one more dealership. I prayed about this situation as well and when I went to the dealership, I walked away with a new, not used, car that was better than the car I wanted initially, and I only have God to thank for that. After that situation, I remember falling off with my prayers as well.

I can’t continue to treat the man upstairs that way. I know the Lord will never forsake me, but I need to have enough integrity to make sure I do what I know is right.  

Before writing this article, I spoke with other people about this topic and all of them have admitted to doing this in some way, shape or form in their lives. I knew I wasn’t the only person that has gone through this, so it made me feel less like a heathen when others stated they had done the same thing.

Since things are still going well in my life, I have made the conscious effort to make sure I thank God for the blessings I can see and can’t see. I know he has delivered me from things that I have no idea about, so I want to make sure I thank Him for that.  

I am always a constant work in progress to be a better person, so what better way to be a better person than to be better connected with God. The only outcome that could result from this is me being blessed.