I sit here this morning w/dozens of thoughts running through my head. Thoughts of happenings during the last year and of things that I anticipate that are to come. This post will primarily be about my word of the year for 2012. I was talking w/a friend yesterday about my 2011 focus word, "health"-she was actually congratulating me on how far I've come in accomplishing my all around goal of health. I appreciated her encouragement and thought to myself, "but, I'm not finished yet!" This had me thinking about how focus words should be like the Christian virtues listed in the NT book of Peter. Just because I am choosing a new word for the year doesn't mean I get rid of the one from the previous year. Instead, it is like building with blocks-I will merely be adding to my focus and continue on the path I've set all year for health. It doesn't mean I'm "finished" or that I've arrived-it just means that "setting my mind" (a very biblical principle) on health this year has allowed me to instill/practice new habits for a lifetime-not merely for a year. So though I am only halfway to my physical goals, regarding health, I am not discouraged-because I am MUCH further along and healthier than I was at this time last year:) So, without further delay-my focus word for 2012 is contentment.
Generally, I am a fairly content person in most areas of my life. However, with the "possibilities" for the year that I will be facing, I know that this will be a word that will help bring me back to my center when things get to be a bit crazy!lol Though I am generally content, it is something that is based on the fact that I am a planner/scheduler/routine oriented person-however, this year is going to TOTALLY throw that off balance. It is going to be a year full of change. I don't mind change, I actually embrace it on most days. Change is not a "bad" thing, but the changes I will be undergoing this year are changes that are fairly major as life goes...not day to day little stuff that I normally deal with. So, like the apostle Paul, I intend to "learn" to be content wherever I find myself in the coming year.
Thinking about why I chose this word, I am reminded that my husband is just half way through his remote tour overseas-I will be without him for another 6 months. You may be thinking, "Well, surely you're accustomed to him being gone by now". Yes, my day to day life has taken on a new "normal" as it were, but no doubt it will be during this second 6 month period that being without him will start to get OLD! This is when I will need to call on my "focus" word-contentment. On those days that I'm just sick and tired of being without my companion/best friend/lover, I will remember that this is only a temporary season and that I am blessed-therefore I will "learn" contentment while waiting. Then there is the entire preparation for moving ordeal. So many things to think about, lists to be made, house to be sold, medical/dental/dog/school records to be retrieved, find a new house to call "home" for the next 3 years, etc... So many things involved in just the physical act of moving itself. I will definitely need to remind myself to be "content" during those times-to not become discouraged if prospects to view our house aren't as regular as I hope, that I don't forget any of the really important physical things that need to be done, etc... It's interesting, I have read and even heard in a few sermons over the years-that moving takes 7 years off of your life. If that's the case, then I must have 9 lives like a cat, because I am running in a deficit at this point if the average life expectancy is 70-80 years!lol Of course, I don't believe I have 9 lives(and neither do cats!)-I know that the truth is that it is God that has been my strength through each and every move that I've been blessed to make in the last 24 years of my married life! Another reason I may need to call upon my word of the year, is with regards to the "emotional" part of moving. This year, I will be leaving behind some very dear friends/brethren-some that I have been blessed to be a part of their lives for a total of almost 13 years and others that I have been so incredibly blessed to know/love for the last 5...now that is going to require a LOT of contentment. Content to be seperated from such great friends/important relationships. I know that this seperation is a more permanent one. They will now become a part of my "past" and we will keep in touch from time to time-typical things like holidays, special events in one another's lives, etc... But, the daily/regular connections and experiences together will be gone Then there is the biggest change...leaving our college aged daughter behind to only visit us a couple of times a year. That is going to require a LOT of contentment on my part! This year has been somewhat of a dry run with her living on campus-it's been fine and we've all adjusted well to that. However, she has been able to come "visit" once a month or as often as she wants-once every 6 months will be quite different for all of us. Instead of focusing on what I'll be leaving behind-I will choose to be content and focus on the blessings that God has in store for me. A new house to live in with all of the comforts it will provide, a new "adult" relationship w/our college aged daughter, a new enjoyment/appreciation for the last 2 years w/our "baby" girl before she heads off to college, a renewed relationship w/my husband after being seperated for a year, all of the new friendships that await us all in Arizona, the new congregation that we will work/worship with for this remaining 3 years of our military life, the new experiences/travel that we will be blessed to enjoy during our time in Arizona, just so MANY things to be grateful for...how can I NOT be content! It all sounds great and it will be, but it's just the "getting through" part that sometimes makes it difficult to remember how important it is to be content.
So, dear reader, what are your thoughts for the coming year? Any focus, goals, resolutions, etc...that you'd like to share? I pray that each one of us will remember how very important it is to remember that each year brings its own share of heartache, laughter, joy, trials, etc...but that no matter what, we are blessed if we have been given another year to "ring in". Blessed to use every day in 2012 to know our God better, serve Him more, love others w/the love of Christ, etc... Never be afraid of new things-instead be content with where you are at and smile at the future:)
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