I love the fresh start of a new year. There is so much hope for positive change, the turning of a new leaf, the possibilities. I have anxiously awaited the dawning of this new year, because 2015 was HARD.
There were bright moments: I got married! I lost 25 pounds. I was able to do some traveling.
But others times were just difficult. I married a widower with two kids and finding our new normal as a family was so much harder than I thought it would be. Depression, anger, hospitals, and the passing of a loved one were all part of a very difficult year for us.
As 2016 opened, changes were definitely already in the works.
The biggest change coming for us is WE’RE MOVING! When Mark and I married, we settled into a home he already had on a lake in Virginia that is very secluded. We have no permanent neighbors and our neighborhood has very few permanent residents. The few are almost all retired couples. Schools, grocery stores, restaurants and basically everything else is a 30-minute drive away. The seclusion has made adjusting as a family more difficult, so Mark and I decided in December to move back to the Raleigh area (which is an hour from where we are now and is where we were both from before marrying). We acted quickly and will close on our new house next week. The kids and I are both ecstatic about being back near friends and community.
The great catalyst for our move was realizing that we need access to better counseling and medical options, which are very, very few where we are now. My stepson has really struggled with the death of his mother from cancer. Even though it was over four years ago, losing your mother at age seven is devastating. Add to that moving, leaving behind all of your friends, and getting a new stepmom–the changes were just too much.
Now 2016 is here. We can have a good year, make new friends, start over. The possibilities are endless.
When thinking about the change I wanted to see this year, I spent a great deal of time reflecting on last year and creating a plan for this year. I will be sharing more about my goals on Thursday, but today, I want to share my one word – PURPOSE.
I struggled as much as the kids did in trying to figure out this new family dynamic. As things got harder, I withdrew and became more listless. Life felt stagnant. The last couple of weeks have brought about a renewed desire to dream and pursue goals I have been too overwhelmed to tackle.
I want this year to be about purpose. I want to live each day intentionally. I wrote a 31 Days series about this last October, but I was struggling so much at the time, that the writing was difficult, not to mention the actual act of living intentionally. But I don’t want to live in that constant struggle any more. So even when it is difficult, even when I don’t want to, I purpose to make better decisions, to act and speak with intentionality and not as a reaction to pain, anger, disappointment, or fear.
As a child, I loved to read and one of my favorite series was the Mandie Series, short mysteries with a faith base. Mandie always clung to the verse, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phillipians 4:13) Now I need to cling to that verse. God didn’t create me to be bitter or angry. Jesus didn’t come so that I could feel wounded and defeated. Now is the time for me to live purposefully, clinging to God’s strength and rejoicing in salvation and newness of life.
I am so excited about this new year, about embracing purpose, and about rejoicing in God!
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