“When you start to feel like things should have been better this year, remember the mountains and valleys that got you here. They are not accidents, and those moments weren’t in vain. You are not the same. You have grown and you are growing. You are breathing, you are living, you are wrapped in endless, boundless grace. And things will get better. There is more to you than yesterday.”
A New Year
Three Weeks… 21 days… Where has it gone? Just a short time ago, we relished in the last days of December, hopefully working a little less, spending time with family, enjoying the peacefulness of the last days of the year. Reflecting on the year past and the one about to begin. And on some level we made commitments, maybe in the form of traditional New Years Resolutions, maybe just quietly in our thoughts… some things need to change, some things can be better.
I made those commitments. And yet, here we are, three weeks into a new year, and at least for me, the old routine was louder than the new changes. The numbers on the scale haven’t changed much, I have yet to make it to the gym, my weekly activity report on my phone condemns me, January is already over budget, and I’m not sure my family would attest to any substantial change in my patience or intentionality.
Conflicting Voices
And in the silence, as the voice of accusation comes, I find myself quick to agree. I’m a failure. I can’t change. I will never be the friend/mom/wife I’m supposed to be. I will always be overweight, out of shape, broke, and distracted. I can spiral in the failure, I can allow the accusations to be the loudest voice I hear, but then I take a moment to sit still, to engage in a conversation with my God and he reminds me…
He reminds me that He thinks I am fantastic. He reminds me that He delights in me. That every failure is not wasted, as long as I fail forward. That He looks at me and sees all the things He created me to be and do and that He cheers loudly when I succeed, and cheers me on even louder when I fail, because He knows I will learn and do it differently next time. And I underestimate that all the time. I forget how absolutely incredibly much Jesus loves me. I forget that He sees in me sunshine and delight, joy and hope, love and grace, beauty and strength, playfulness and intelligence, and so much more.
Making a Choice
So today, I chose to send the voice of accusation back where it belongs. That is not my voice, that is not my Fathers’ voice, that is the voice of the one who fears me and what I could become if I stopped listening to him. Today I choose to allow God’s voice to be the loudest voice, to allow His Truth to be the only truth that matters, to refuse to be defined by my failure, but rather to get back up and do it again. So, I’m adjusting those resolutions and commitments. I still want to accomplish them, they are good things, but I’m adding a new one, a better one, to the very top of the list; This year I choose to live in the space where God’s voice is the loudest voice and His truth is the loudest truth. I know I need more of that. I know I need more of Him. And I pray this for you too, may you be reminded daily of His delight in you and may His voice be the loudest voice in your life too.
SEO Affiliate Program says:
Awesome post! Keep up the great work! 🙂