It’s a brand new year, and time to put away the old one. 2016 had its ups and downs for sure. My husband was recovering from surgery in the first part of the year, causing me to realize just how much he does around the house. We mourned for friends and family who passed away, and celebrated the births of two new grandchildren.

As I look toward 2017, I wonder what the year will bring. I’m not a person who makes resolutions at the start of a new year, it’s more my personality to start (or quit) things when I think of them. Which can make it hard for my husband when we’re dieting in December while everyone else is feasting. Nobody said I had good sense about the whole thing.

In the end I think resolutions are a way to better ourselves. A time to try again to become the person we hope we can be. My resolution this year is to better discern the voice of God. In 1 Kings 19:11-12, God passed by Elijah on a mountain. A powerful wind tore at the mountain, shattering the rocks. Then an earthquake came, and after that, a fire. But the Bible says that God wasn’t in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire. Finally, Elijah heard a still small voice. When he heard it, he left the safety of the cave, knowing it was the voice of God.

When the world shouts options at us, and we don’t know what to do, we need to listen for the still small voice. The one that whispers deep in our spirit, that we recognize as the voice of our Shepherd. In John 10:4-5 it says the sheep know their shepherd’s voice and won’t follow anyone else. In 2017 my desire is to know my Master’s voice, and not follow a stranger.