Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

You know, Lord, reading an article titled "REFLECTIONS," a challenge was given: "If you were another person, would you like to be a friend of yourself?"

What a good New Year's Resolution that would be for every one of us to make, right? But - like it or not, that is a hard saying. That challenge calls for some inner inspection. Does our Christian walk go with our talk? We know that we should pray our walk would show.

A person has to live with himself and in so doing, it's up to him to see to it that he is always in good company. When stress muddles us like drifts of snow, Lord, help us to look to You so we allow love to freely flow, love from You, for us to pass on.

We each make the world a better or a worse place to live - it's our decision. In some way, everything we do will affect someone else. We can think of a most simple example, Lord, and follow it through. Just take a look at how any decision we've made has affected someone else; kind of scary, ain't it. Decisions from getting out of bed in the morning to more major ones as marriage or a career, affect everyone around us in some way or another.

You gave us free-will, Lord, and if we choose to obey You, we will, in some way or other, maybe even unknown to us, make the world a better place to live. If we're obedient to You, using Your Word as our guide and example, then our Christian walk will show it: we will find living with ourselves to be good company; we may even pass that challenge and wish for a friend just like ourselves.

1 Cor 10:31: "Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord," is encouraging.

Love, Mara