Every year, it seems like I see more and more memes about “dead week,” the week between Christmas and the New Year that’s “sluggish” and “the strangest week of the year,” when “time seems to have no meaning.” Friends shared these memes to their Instagram stories, unofficially giving each other permission to get nothing done during this week: “This week doesn’t even count,” the consensus seemed to be.
I felt like a stranger to that sentiment this year. Those who’ve been in contact with me over the past couple months know I’ve been pretty mentally occupied with researching and writing for a small group workbook on the Apostles’ Creed, the manuscript for which is due January 4. The last few weeks leading up to this deadline have had my mental bandwidth stretched to its max, especially as I’ve started training for an additional new job at a restaurant here in Detroit. As my new coworkers in training asked about each other’s holiday plans, I had to say, “I’ll be writing!”
“You’ve been writing since I’ve known you!” my closest friend in the new coworker group, Andee, said. “You’ve got this, though, you’re so close. I’d love to be able to have a glass of champagne and see you for the New Year, but you absolutely do what you gotta do.” I really appreciated that.
“Yeah, let me see how much progress I can make this weekend!” And I did. I worked hard, grateful for the inspiration, motivation, and energy to do so. Feeling confident that I’d gotten to a good spot to be able to get a draft done on time, I decided to step back and add the balance of friendship back into the holiday. So, on Saturday night, I messaged Andee, “Lemme know what you’re doing for the New Year tomorrow? I’ll come out!”
“Yay!!!” Andee quickly replied. She was solo and didn’t have any specific plan. “There is so much pressure around new years of where to be when the ball drops,” she said. “I want to just be with friends and toast a new year that could be anywhere.”
“Cool,” I answered, “I honestly actively avoid watching the ball drop, and I don’t really care whether I’m even awake at midnight. I like to end the year on a day I can be content with, and then I like waking up and starting the new year that way, too.” We decided the two of us would go to one of Andee’s favorite local bars, have a glass of wine and a chat, and ring in the new year when it was time.
New Year’s Eve
When I got to a stopping point with the writing, I ate dinner and went to Andee’s house. When I arrived, I learned that friends had been messaging her, looking to join in on the New Year plan. What was going to be a quiet evening between two friends rather quickly turned into a proper little party. Already feeling quite mentally drained from work, I was a bit nervous that I’d be socially overwhelmed and shut down from exhaustion.
I quickly stopped that train of thought in its tracks and resolved to practice receiving the day from the top down, instead of being attached to the plan we’d made and being caught off guard by the gap between expectations and reality. (For more that idea, check out my recent Reformed review of It’s a Wonderful Life.)
I decided I was going to practice contentment that night, and it all turned out better than I’d hoped. The evening’s events worked out so that Andee and I did get to have our private glass of wine and chat–at her house, before going to meet up with everyone else in Midtown. (Not only that, but as a bonus I got to try Andee’s fabulous freshly homemade bread!)
“I’m so sorry, I did not expect this night to turn into this. This is a lot,” Andee said as we sat at the dining room table with bread and wine.
“You know what?” I said as the circumstances set in, “It’s all working out great. We’re having our wine and our chat, just like we wanted, so now everything else that happens tonight is an extra bonus.” We got on the same page, and we went out into the night already content.
We ended up at a French eatery and bar where Andee used to work. The staff greeted us warmly, and everyone around was amiable the entire time. To top it off, there were some lofi hip-hop beats playing right up until the Countdown. That’s my go-to soundtrack for a relaxing time! Having reoriented my heart to receive everything that night from the LORD, each little moment felt curated as a gift for me.
We talked the night away, and it was simply lovely. When the time for the Countdown came, the staff passed champagne flutes around to everyone, and I didn’t even feel an impulse to take out my phone for a photo or video. The whole night just happened. It truly became a day I could be content with.
New Year’s Day
Could I wake up and start the new year the same way?
I really didn’t feel like writing, or doing much of anything at all. The night’s socializing (and late bedtime) had left me feeling drained of energy. I started binge-watching Survivor on Netflix while drinking water and hanging out with Rigby (my cat). It would’ve been really easy to lean into the “dead week” vibes and spend the whole day completely couch-locked. (Rigby claims every week should be like that…)
On this particular day, during this particular season of life, I didn’t feel like I’d be content with that. Instead, what I wanted to do was spend time reflecting and writing–just for me and God.
I’ve never been big on New Years’ Resolutions. Though I am a very to-do list and goal-oriented person, trying to work up motivation to set goals on demand has never quite made sense to me. As I reflected on the concept of a “new” year and the fresh start people sometimes look for by making resolutions, a bunch of Scripture came to mind. The Apostle Paul reminds me that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). From Revelation 21:5, I know that Jesus says, “Behold, I am making all things new,” and I know that includes me. Again, Paul tells me “to put off [my] old self, which belongs to [my] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of [my mind], and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).
As these verses ran through my mind, I thought, “Sure, if all that’s going on is December 31 is turning into January 1, and all we’re trying to do is work up motivation to improve ourselves for the sake of self-improvement, then New Year Resolutions will ultimately fall short. But, Christians are commanded to make every effort to put off our old self and put on the new self as we’re “being transformed into the same image [of Christ] from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is our command every day, so why not receive the popular concept of New Year Resolutions as a gift of common grace, motivating me to reflect on my own spiritual resolutions.
To facilitate my reflections, I Googled, “Reformed Resolutions.”
Reformed Resolutions
The first result was, “The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (1722-1723).” A list of resolutions from America’s most well-known theologian? How have I never read this before? I scrolled down to Edwards’ intro to his list of 70 resolutions. It read,
“Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.”
Oh, this is going to be great, I thought. And it was. Edwards didn’t disappoint, and the entire list is worth slowly reading and reflecting on. (Edwards himself committed to reading the resolutions “once a week”!) As Dr. Ligon Duncan said in a 2008 message on “The Resolutions of a Godly Leader” at RTS, “A nineteen-year-old wrote these, and mature Christians have been meditating on them ever since.”
In an effort to intentionally meditate on these resolutions, I decided to read through and claim three of Edwards’ resolutions as my own for this season. That wasn’t hard at all to do, as far more than three resolutions read as if Edwards had recorded some of my own inner thoughts over the past few years.
There are some standouts on the list that reflect some of my most common inner dialogues and heart struggles. Not wanting to take these lightly or skim through them, I’ve decided to spend January getting into some of these personal, spiritual resolutions in more depth. Feeling confident and eager to explore this in writing, I’m satisfied that New Year’s Day has been one I can be content in.
Thank you, Lord.
Up first: “Resolved, never to do anything that I so much question the lawfulness of…” (Edwards’ 39th Resolution)
Sources:
- Biron, Bethany. “These are the memes that perfectly capture the ‘dead’ work week you’re trapped in right now between Christmas and New Year’s.” December 29, 2022. Web. https://www.businessinsider.com/best-memes-week-between-christmas-new-years-day-2022-12
- Duncan, Ligon. “The Resolutions of a Godly Leader.” Ligon Duncan. September 23, 2008. Web. https://ligonduncan.com/the-resolutions-of-a-godly-leader-731/
- McMahon, Matthew. “The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (1722-1723).” A Puritan Mind. N.d. Web. https://www.apuritansmind.com/the-christian-walk/jonathan-edwards-resolutions/
Detroit, Reformed. 
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