When I lived alone in my cottage, I used to put my clogs on the fireplace hearth when I wasn’t using them. The opposite of that simple picture is the one below, a line-up belonging to Hans, Katy, and their 3 young children.

Today as I studied the assortment of boots, shoes, and slippers next to my front door, my mind rushed to the word “commitment.” Having a family is a massive one, and footwear is only a small part of it. For Katy and Hans, there will soon be a pair of baby booties at the end of that long line, too, and an increased commitment to go along with it.

Having children requires making an ongoing commitment that refuses to quit. But isn’t that true with most of life’s worthwhile undertakings? To make them work, we can’t allow ourselves to give up or walk away. On this New Year’s Day, I’ve been asking myself what worthwhile commitments God wants me to make in 2013.

Scripture tells us to carefully count the cost of taking on new responsibilities, and to do so for an important reason: so that we’ll be able to do what we said we’d do. Saying yes to something without following through is to be avoided.

Jesus is our example in this, demonstrating the ultimate in follow-through. He volunteered to do the most difficult job that existed, giving his sinless life for our sins. Sticking with that commitment turned out to be excruciating for him, but he did it anyway.

My response to his example should be to accept whatever assignment he asks me to do in 2013, first counting the cost, then making plans to pay it. He won’t ask me to do what I can’t, nor will he assign me something that will swamp me. If I find that happening, the commitment I’ve taken on won’t have been from him.

But how will I be able to tell if a commitment I’m asked to make is from God or some other source? Jesus is our example in that, too. He only did what God asked him to do and nothing else, a pro at discerning what that was. So if we ask him to help us sort through our own commitment-confusion, he will.

As 2013 begins and we decide how we’re going to spend our time (whether it involves a long line of family shoes or a single pair of clogs) we should run it all past the Lord first, to get his take on it. And then once we commit, we should take it all the way…. just like he does.

The Lord says, “Even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, my love won’t walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart.” (Isaiah 54:10, The Message)