Ah, the beginning of another New Year. That good news either fills you with optimism or perhaps hesitation as you ponder if you should or should not make any New Year’s resolutions. You know the routine — you make them, keep them for a while; then you break them. Right?
I think that’s the difference between a promise (pledge, hope, expectation) and a resolution (fixed purpose, unwavering firmness, determination). I might glibly promise to meet someone for lunch next Tuesday and most often I will be there. But if I resolve to do something, new or old, for the coming year, the chances of it happening are even more likely.
Here are some possible 2024 resolutions which promise to help people living with hunger:
- I resolve to daily thank God for my food and pray for those whose stomachs ache with hunger pains. (Maybe I’ll urge my pastor to include the hungry in our weekly prayers during worship.)
- I resolve to contribute foodstuffs, finances, or physical help to my local food shelf at least quarterly during 2024. (Maybe I’ll do it more often and bring my family along on the project.)
- I resolve to contribute financially during Lent and Advent to ELCA World Hunger, knowing that those monies will be used both domestically and internationally to help end hunger. (Maybe I’ll give more at other times, too.)
- I resolve to advocate with my federal Senators and Representative on a hunger issue, either in person, by snail mail, telephone or e-mail, once during 2024. (Maybe I’ll advocate again on this or another issue once I know it is not hard to do.)
We can do it. We can resolve to work together to end hunger in God’s world. Choose one (or more of these resolutions and let’s begin 2024 with renewed hope and promise.
Vernita Kennen
Incarnation, Shoreview
