The year 2018 is off and running. How are you feeling about it all? Are you making progress toward a new goal? Do you feel encouraged that you'll get there?
It's been a while since I've set New Years resolutions. Since becoming a mom, I've pursued goals and made plans in a different way. Instead of pinpointing specific things to achieve, I step back and look at the year ahead: What commitments, events and travel are already set?
With this in hand, my husband and I brainstorm and insert doses of family fun, as well as time for personal priorities (ESSENTIAL: a long-overdue getaway for just the two of us) and, for me, creative development.
Next I zoom into the current month. The calendar squares fill - yes, I am still on paper. Then the current week. The to-do list crystalizes. Then the very day I'm in. The task X-ing commences...
And yet all the while, writerly things are bouncing around in my brian. These are the things that I cannot wait to do. Each activity knocks incessantly on the front cover of my daily planner, begging and bartering for a minute of my time:
- That manuscript I want to write
- That manuscript I want to revise
- That book I want to get at the library
- That author I want to research
- That blog post I want to write
- That podcast I want to hear
- That Twitter chat I want to join
- That conference I want to attend
What may look like busy work or frivolous tasks to some are pure adventure to me. Creating. Learning. Connecting. These are the things that defined my youth, adolescence and college years. These are the things that define me still today.
So, that's what I want to do with my time. But the central question is, What does God want me to do with it? As I step day-by-day through the new year, this is the thought that is most on my heart. This Bible verse provides the hope and clarity that I find myself seeking:
Psalm 25:4-5: Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
Happy New Year to you, and may God bless your endeavors in His name - today and always.