I haven’t always chosen “a word” for every year. Sometimes it feels right, and sometimes it doesn’t. I pray about it, and if nothing just stands out to me, I skip it and move on. Sometimes one comes to me later, and sometimes it doesn’t.
This year was different for me in that my word literally jumped into my mind the SECOND I started thinking about a word for 2020. I think I even audibly said “woah, that was fast!” I will admit, it was nice to just have something come easy to me for a change.
Towards the end of 2019, I felt like there was a huge shift in my life. In my mindset, in my perspective, and in my desires. It’s one of those things where you “know” something (head knowledge) for years, but it’s really just a lot of good intentions until you DO something to make a change. I can sit around all day and post heartfelt memes about 2020 and how it’s going to be different and how I want to do XYZ, and there is zero wrong with that, but my question is, are you/me going to really DO anything to make those changes or just have all the feels and warm fuzzies for a couple of weeks then go back to business as usual? As much as I hate to admit it, I am usually a “back to business as usual” kind of girl.
You see, I’m what they call an “idea guy” (or girl in my case). I look at the big picture and know a general direction I want to go in and can lead a group of people there, but I get bogged down in the details of how to get there or make it happen. That is exactly how I am feeling right now. Restless. Antsy. Ready. For what? My goodness, I wish I knew.
So what am I supposed to do until I “know?” I’m going to take a biblical twist on a line from Frozen 2 which says to “just do the next right thing,” and change it to “do the next right thing that God has told you to do.” I am also going to say that we need to remember that sometimes DOING things for God can mean DOING nothing at the moment.
Huh?
Ok, so for an example, let’s say you want to run a marathon. You aren’t likely going to go outside tomorrow and run one. There is going to be a lot of prep work before you get to the “finish line” and some days you may feel like you aren’t working towards your goal because you are resting or doing some small step, but it doesn’t mean those steps aren’t necessary or important. Likely you will have to:
-Buy new shoes
-find a training plan
-stretch
-cross train
-sign up for a race
-rest
-research nutrition
…and so on and so on. Hopefully, you get the point. It can be super easy to think on a rest day that you are stagnant and not “doing anything”, but in reality, as all distance runners know, rest days are SO important to training for a race, and without them, you could be doing more harm than good, or relay your goal race, or even worse get injured.
So back to my Biblical example. Sometimes, God has big plans for us, but RIGHT NOW He is calling us to rest. Or maybe RIGHT NOW He is calling you to study the Bible more, or RIGHT NOW He wants you to focus on your family. This doesn’t exactly feel like it’s helping you reach your goal or dream, but God knows better and knows it is an important step to getting you where He wants you to go in His perfect timing.
Ever since I have felt this unrest a couple of months ago, I have been daily praying and asking God to reveal next steps to me. I’m pretty assertive, so waiting is really tough for me to do. Once I get it in my mind I want to head in a direction, I pack my bags and get on the road if you know what I mean. Well, I guess God is trying to teach me something because I believe He gave me this restlessness, but He is also being fairly silent on the next steps or an exact course to chart. Sure there are little things here and there I am working on to make me a better person, but that big overarching goal…I don’t know how to get there or what it will look like. That is why my word for the year is VISION.
I am easily distracted and get caught up in things that don’t truly matter, and I want to stay focused this year. I believe God sees the whole picture, from beginning to end, and will reveal what I need to know when I need to know it. I believe something is going to unfold even though I cannot yet see it, and I also believe if I continue to “do the next right thing” that He has called me to do, even if it is tiny or seemingly meaningless, that in the proper time, the vision will be revealed.
My verse for the year is below:
This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. – Habakkuk 2:3
Most of the time I feel like God is moving too slowly for my liking, so I have to remind myself that He is not bound by time, and not in a hurry. He can see the end and knows exactly what is going to happen and knows what is best for me. So on the days that I feel like nothing is happening, I plan to remind myself to stay focused on the vision I have for my future and how I desire to help people. I may not know exactly what that looks like just yet, but I am praying that step by step, it will be revealed in its proper time.
