Have you Found the Secret?
Not the book, or movie that is kind of out there about the Secret with a capital S, but the secret that it seems like I am always looking for. The secret to really getting things done. The secret to being organized. The secret to finally losing that weight. The secret to making my life go smoother. That secret. It seems like I’ve always been looking for that something to make things better. It is a drive inside me that helps me accomplish a lot.
In some ways, I’ve found lots of little secrets. I’ve found little things that help me be more efficient. I’ve found words that help explain things, and created systems that make my life easier. At the end of this year, like every year, I take time to reflect about what worked and what didn’t work. I quickly move into secret-finding mode: what can I do next year to make it even better?
But there is no secret, really. There is nothing I have to wait to discover to make thing better. I know how to have a successful life, because I have a successful life. Sure, I could always do better- we can all always do better- but honestly, things are really good. There is nothing to wait for, or secret to uncover that will finally make it all click into place.
2 Peter 1:3 says “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” have what I need, God has already given it. It is much more about doing what I already know to do than discovering something hidden that suddenly makes things work. I guess secrets are just more fun than plodding on. I am middle-age in middle-class America and it all feels kind of muddled and muddy, wading through an ocean of options. Secrets sound much better than diligent work of choices and intentionality.
Maybe they kind of work together: the faithfulness and the secrets. Maybe secrets are more just clarity after confusion, something that comes naturally after you put in the faithful hard work of doing what you already know to do. Of course I want more secrets this fresh new year, but am I willing to put in the work?