Four Words for the New Year
I’m not really one to make New Year’s resolutions. On one hand, I have a follow-through problem. I hate to say something out loud and not follow through with it (there’s a shamefully good chance of this) – so I’d rather just avoid setting myself up for failure. On the other hand, I genuinely spend a good portion of my life listening, reading, and thinking about how I could/should/will improve. I am a self-reflector by nature, and I certainly don’t wait until the new year to try and assess all the things I need to change about myself. I’m a work in progress. *Sigh.
But, this year, the new beginning has me thinking. I believe God has placed some words on my heart that I want to carry with me into this year – but not only into 2018 – into my future. I am feeling inspired and hopeful about things that are to come. Not only over the next 12 months but for my life and family in general.
I’m feeling overwhelmingly responsible for my own lot. Maybe because I watched the Pursuit of Happiness again recently (that will inspire anyone with a heartbeat), maybe because there are things in my life that need reevaluating, restructuring, and rethinking, and maybe because God is pressing on my heart the truth that I need to stop settling for the status quo and take my life up a notch. Because I don’t want to miss a thing.
Here are the words I’ve been mulling over:
Cherish.
You love your spouse and kids, sure. But do they feel cherished by you? How do you look at/talk to/do for something or someone you cherish? You tend to it, take care of it, speak of it with great esteem and want to show it off. Do your loved ones get this vibe from you? I want to cherish my people more.
Focus.
Wife. Mom. Homemaker. Sister. Daughter. Friend. Writer. Doer of ALL THE THINGS. Focus? HAHAHA! Is that even a thing? I want it to be. I feel like the most scatter-brained human most days, and well, I don’t like it. I try to do too much in too little time. There has to be a better way. My husband is constantly telling me to focus on one thing at a time. I’m going to give this a shot. I know it won’t all get done, but maybe I can do some things really well if I’m better at narrowing my focus. Wish me luck!
Action.
Remember what I said about my follow-through problem? I think lots of things. I want to do lots of things, but I don’t take action on lots of things. I get so caught up in the urgent that I lose sight of the important. I want to exercise regularly, but I find lots of urgent reasons not to. I want to serve others by finding a place to volunteer regularly. But the urgent things that come up always suppress that calling. I feel a JustDo It campaign coming on. I want to be a doer. Not just putting out the ten million fires that come up as part of mom-life every day, but I want to take action on some of the things that have been pulling at my heart for so long.
Slow down.
I try really hard to be intentional with my spouse and kids, and I try to do that while doing all other things really well, like preparing meals, managing our finances, keeping a clean house, writing as a side-gig; I could go on and on, but you get the point. On New Years Eve Day (yesterday) my two older boys were at my parent’s house, so it was just the hubs and toddler here with me at the house. Maybe it was the snow, or the quiet, or the fact that I was sort of working on potty training #3, but I gave myself permission to just CHILL. I spent lots of time with baby boy, watched TWO MOVIES IN ONE DAY with my husband, and spent plenty of cuddle time on the couch with them both. I didn’t clean a thing. It was so enjoyable, I want to do that again from time to time. With my husband, kids, friends…that’s the stuff memories are made of.
I don’t know what the new year holds, but I certainly know that God has a plan for His good and His glory. What that may look like I’m not sure, but I want to be a good steward of the blessings He has given me during my stay here on earth. Not just because it’s a new year, but because He’s speaking to my heart, and I really want to listen.
