I’m always a bit skeptical of people around the New
Year. People resolving to make
changes in their lives is great and all, but how many of them are really
serious? How many are actually
willing to take the time and make the commitment to change? Let’s face it, we’re people of habit
and, put simply, change scares us.
“We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread
than
climb the cross of the present and let our illusions die.” -W.H. Auden
As the New Year draws closer and closer, I can’t stop
thinking about this past year. And,
as I do, I can’t help but think of 2012-about what I want it to be, about who I
want to be. As I do this, I have
to make a conscious effort to cast skepticism aside, to believe that I am
someone with not only the capacity, but also the willingness to change.
2011 hasn’t been the easiest year for me. It’s been one filled with hopes,
dreams, failures, & disappointments.
One of those years that somehow flies by, yet simultaneously seems to
last forever. As 2011 comes to a
close though, I can’t say that I’m terribly upset. It’s definitely had its good moments, but I’m ready for
something more. I’m ready for a
fresh start.
Over the past few days, I’ve spent a significant amount of
time thinking about and creating a list of hopes I have for 2012. I’ve asked the Lord to give me words to
describe the season I’m walking into and to prepare my heart for all He has in
store for me over the course of this next year.
I don’t want to be about some quick fix, a list of resolutions
I’ll fail to keep. I’ve never been
much good at that and the last thing I need is to be opening up another door
for condemnation and guilt in my life.
I want 2012 to be more than that.
I want it to be a year of transformative change-not simply in the
decisions I make, but in the posture of my heart. I want the decisions I make to be reflective of the person I
want to be; and who I want to be is a person of joy, a person of gratitude.
So while yes, I do have a list of things I hope to
accomplish throughout this upcoming year, checking things off my list just
doesn’t excite me nearly as much as the thought of every day life. Because I’m committed to the small
things this year. I’m committed to
those small, every day choices that will help me become the person I’m called
to be.
Here’s to 2012.
May it be a year of joy; a year of gratitude;
and, most of all, a year far
greater than any of us could even imagine!
I just wanted to let each of you know that this is
going to be my last post on my World Race blog. After 200+ blogs in nearly 3 years, it’s officially time for
me to close this chapter of my life.
Thank you to all those who have followed me throughout that time. Thank you for your comments, for your
prayers. Thank you for taking time
out of your day to read what the Lord has been doing in me. I pray you’re able to continue to
follow me at my other blog. I look
forward to reviving it over the New Year and continuing to share with you what
the Lord is doing in my life, including an update of where He’s currently
leading me. Once again, I just
thank you and I pray 2012 is the best year yet for each of you.
