I always feel obliged to ponder my life on New Year’s Eve. Like most people, I look back at what I’ve accomplished in the past year and wonder where I’m headed in the upcoming months.

That brings up unpleasant questions like have I done enough to fulfill last year’s goals? What happened to the five pounds I was going to lose? It also ushers in good thoughts: Wow! I’m so glad I nurtured that new habit I tried to put effort into building! Or thoughts like this: Whew! with the help of God and others I navigated some unexpected stormy times which led me to growth. Painful growth, but growth.

This year, there is so much to do and be. As I sort through my hopes for this new decade, one thing I want is to increase is prayer time- prayer time alone. Prayer alone can be intimating because I feel like Eve in the garden- naked and ashamed but I want to feel close to God— just not close to the god my emotions dream up.. does that make sense? Dedicating time each morning to pray by myself is the habit I need this year. Maybe keeping a prayer journal would help.

I found this quote from Saint Herman of Alaska and thought it sounded like a worthy goal for the upcoming new year: from this day, from this hour, from this minute let us strive to love God above all. It’s a high ideal, but in practice maybe it simply means spending time in prayer and reading scripture, caring for the people around us, and doing the thing that is before us to do.

That’s a worthy goal for this new decade!