It rained the morning I went to the bookstore to try my luck on a new devotional book for the new year. As if I were going on a blind date, I felt heart fluttering in anticipation of what I will discover. Unfortunately, my local bookstore’s Christian living section did not have many options for what I was looking for. Obviously, they settled for some of the bestselling titles. I liked the leather bindery and the title. A year of Jesus calling me every morning sounded great. This devotional is so widely known and yet I still have not read it. So perhaps, it’s about time.

Can you believe the first week of 2019 is almost over? I have much hope for this year. Today is a monumental day as we are testing the heating system for the first time in our new house. The house has been under construction for almost two years. With all the building permits out of the way, nothing can stop us now. Or so we hope. Everything happens according to God’s timing and I think that’s the lesson the construction of our house has taught us over the years. As I await for my employment, I am learning that as well. It’s a lesson that is tough to listen but once you let it take root in your heart, it brings forth the shoots of genuine peace that is unbreakable. And from that point on, you can only grow, and the yielding of the fruits can’t be far.

It dawned on me, this overwhelming flood of love, as I reflected on my life I have lived so far. From the time I was conceived, through my birth, and to this day, Jesus has been calling me, ceaselessly. How amazing is it to be awakened by the call of Jesus every single morning with a simple mission that is to LOVE? He doesn’t tax you with some heavy-duty task to conquer the world but to simply love. To love your God and your neighbor. It’s as simple as that.

And so, as I open this beautiful devotional every morning, I have been reinforcing my new year’s resolution, my only new year’s resolution. I will strive to live by that simple principal and by that one principal only: To love my God and to love my neighbor.

May it be a year of loving and nothing else.