Before stepping into a new year, I love to recap the one that is coming to a close. It is so easy to let the year’s accomplishments and lessons go unnoticed, but it is a powerful practice to take just a few minutes to honor the life you’ve lived over the past year with gratitude and wisdom. So this week, I invite you to answer two simple questions:
- What was the most meaningful event of your life this year and why was it so meaningful to you?
- What is the biggest lesson you learned this year and how will you use this lesson to be wiser in the coming year?
The most meaningful event of my life this year is the blessing of Alexander, our son. He arrived in our lives already a year old, energetic, and with a smile that makes you want to cuddle and kiss him again and again. My journey to motherhood lasted more than a decade and was a path filled with disappointment and anguish, surrender and hope. Of all the babies on the planet, the Lord orchestrated events and people and circumstances in such a way that the baby who was destined to be ours entered our lives as though he’d been waiting for us to show up all along.
In the first two minutes we held our son while still sitting in the adoption agency, my husband looked into Alex’s big, brown eyes and said, “I’m your daddy.” And without missing a beat, Alex looked up and said, “Dadda!” and then fell into Jeff’s lap giggling. It was an astonishing moment, a moment followed by so many others that confirmed for us the miracle of our immediate bond as a family. The biggest lesson I’ve learned this year is this:
Hold on to the vision God placed in your heart,
but let go of your ideas about how it must come together.
His plan may be even more beautiful than the one you imagined.
As I imagine my vision for the New Year, I will apply this profound lesson. I will do all within my power to move towards the vision because it is forward movement that opens doors and creates opportunities. I have goals and steps I’ll take, but I remain open to the possibility that something better or different may emerge. And I am more than alright with that.
My challenge to you this week:
Before you paint a picture of what you want this next year to look like, take a moment to acknowledge what you’re most grateful for this year and what lesson you’ve learned that will make you wiser in this New Year.
Journaling assignment:
What was the most meaningful event of your life this year and why were they so meaningful to you? What is the biggest lesson you learned this year and how will you use this lesson to be wiser in the coming year?
