We all love the new year.

I just heard someone say that the beginning of the new year is like a new birth. It does feel that we have a chance to start over and to do better than we have in the past. Is that really possible? What should we do in the new year?

Here is a very personal question. Are your relationships right? Are you where you should be, particularly with your family?

Whenever I conduct a funeral, I am reminded of the importance of families to work together.

In a funeral, children never really care about their father or mother’s accomplishments. They always refer publicly to how their father was always there or how their mother listened to them.

Other times (in private with a hurting heart) the children will confide that they didn’t really know their parent.

How can we make all of our relationships better?

First, let God show you what needs to be changed. When we humbly submit ourselves to God, He will gently show us what needs to happen. Remember, the first step in being right with others is being right with God. Let this new year be a time of new intimacy with God.

Second, maybe you haven’t gotten along with people at work, school, or even in your own home. Why not ask people you are at odds with to have a “do over” or a “reset?” You might be surprised that the other person wants it as badly as you. They may be having even a harder time to express it.

I have often said, “for a relationship to work someone has to be big enough to say ‘I’m sorry, could we begin again?’ ” Sometimes, it takes an even bigger person to say, “I forgive.”

Could I be bold enough to say that this could be the biggest thing you do in 2017?

Finally, set some ways to make the relationship thrive. Many times we didn’t mean to break relationships. We did it by neglect. Determine deliberate ways to connect with the other person.

You can’t always have the best relationship with everybody, but you can give it your best.

When we stand before God (and we will), I want to know I didn’t “leave anything on the table.” I want to know that I pleased God by seeking to be righteous toward others?

What about you?

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