New Year’s resolutions, a.k.a. "always reforming"

I am a great fan of New Year’s resolutions. As December turns into
January, I find myself taking them pretty seriously, pondering what one
or two resolutions I might make for the coming year. What is most
important to me is choosing something that I can make into a habit,
thereby improving my way of being in the world in some small way.

For example, one of the best resolutions I made some years back now
was deciding to leave all quarters I receive in change in my car to use
in parking meters. I was embarrassed by the steady stream of parking
tickets I would pay through the course of a year because I didn’t have
what I needed for the meter. When the solution came to me I wondered why
it took me so long to get it.

In this run up to New Year’s I was struck by the correspondence
between New Year’s resolutions and the distinguishing characteristic of
my branch of Christianity, Reformed Protestantism.