What an incredible year.
It’s definitely been the best one yet, which may have almost everything to do with marrying the most amazing person I know and starting life together with him.
I’m not generally a super retrospective person. I tend to go through life thinking forward instead of backwards, but I’m learning that there is so much to be learned from thinking back over an experience or a time of life. We learn as we live (or hopefully we do), and it’s a good thing to take time to stop and process what it is exactly you have learned by thinking back. As with everything, there’s a balance. Too much forward thinking leaves you without the depth you glean from what is behind, but too much backward thinking leaves you without vision and drive for what is ahead. Balance…so essential.
I took some time this morning to stop and think back over the past year, and read through some of my journaling. It was a big year. Not just because I got married and moved to New York, but because of things that God led me through personally. I would say that this past year was one of the very best and also one of the hardest I’ve ever experienced. I was challenged and blown apart by the power of God in new ways, and He brought me to a place of freedom that I’ve never known before. He wrecked me in ways that I really didn’t want to be wrecked, but He’s putting me back together with a redeemed body, soul, and spirit. And let me say this, the new is so much better than the old, although I will admit I don’t feel that way every day.
Along with not being retrospective, I’m also not much of a resolution setter. I feel like resolutions only set me up for failure, but I do usually make some very generic goals for the year. Nothing specific like “save a thousand dollars,” but more like “spend money wisely” or “learn a new skill.” My goals tend to be pretty much the same thing every time the new year comes around, so I suppose you could say it’s more like looking at and re-setting my core values instead of making resolutions or goals. But whatever it is, I feel like it’s good to stop and remember what is important to you and what you want to give time and energy to.
Another thing I usually do at the new year is pick a word for the year. Usually this word is a particular trait or characteristic I want to develop or improve, but sometimes the word comes more as a promise that I sense in my heart. For instance, a few years ago the word was “delight,” and it was indeed a year of learning to know and feel and believe the delight that God feels for me as His daughter.
This year’s word isn’t quite so deep or spiritual, but it’s still a good one. I’ve picked the word “unhurried” for this year. I’m a quick, rushed kind of person, always scurrying from here to there, working fast, talking fast, etc. etc. etc. That’s not necessarily a huge negative, and I’m sure I will always have that tendency to be hurried, but for this next year I want to focus on becoming unhurried. I want to learn to enjoy the process instead of just the end result.
Looking ahead to the next year is exciting, and I can’t wait to see how two-thousand-and-fourteen unfolds itself for us. There is so much good ahead….there is always good ahead.
May your new year be the best one yet!
What about you: what have you learned from the past year? What are your goals/resolutions for the year ahead?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
