A Five Minute Goal

Here it is February, 1/12th of the way through 2013, and I still haven't made any goals for this year.

So what is the grace period on "New" Year's resolutions? Or in other words, how long is the New Year new?

I have felt resistance to resolutions this year. I was fine with carefully avoiding them up to now, but somehow I feel I let a ball drop or have a task undone. And I hate feeling like I left a task undone.

Oh, the curse of being a "doer".

But I have come up with a new idea for this year.
I had already decided to make this the year of living "right now" in the life I have.

So why not make my resolutions "Right Now" resolutions?
Instead of deciding on something big I will need a long time to accomplish, like losing ten pounds, or running a 10K, or writing my first novel,...instead I will resolve on something I can do in the next 5 minutes.

I will show God's grace toward the slow cashier.
I will appropriate Christ's long-suffering toward the guy in the big truck who just cut me off.
I will follow Jesus' example of long-suffering by listening intently to the long, drawn out description being given to me by my 10 year old when what I really want to do is spend a few mindless minutes on Facebook.
I will return evil for good.
I will remember that love endures all things.
I will give a gentle answer so that wrath will be turned away.
I will lay down my life for my friend.

At least for the next five minutes.
Because I cannot really be that good for an entire day.
And for a whole week?
Yeah, not so much.

But for the next five minutes?
And the five minutes after that?
And the next five minutes after that?

I don't need to look at my entire day, or week, or month, or year, and try to figure out how to get enough of God's grace to get me through all the trials and temptations. That simply overwhelms me.

But I can appropriate the ever-available, always-sufficient, never-ending, supernaturally-enabling grace and power of the Eternal God for the next five minutes.
Because, right now I need His grace, for my right now.
And for my next right now, and my next right now, and my.....well, you get the idea.

So my goal- to just keep living for Jesus five minutes at a time, for a whole year.

Jesus, let's do this thing. Because I can't do it without You- not even for five minutes.