Many are the plans in a man’s heart , but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)
So here it is a new year and you are adding more and more to that list of things you want to accomplish than you ever intended. Everywhere you turn there is a new suggestion and they all sound good, helpful and deep inside you do want to improve in the area mentioned. Well before you take on one more thing, might I suggest the one thing that might help you along all of the paths you have chosen?
Before becoming a mom, I assumed mothers exaggerated how many times they heard the exclamation each day. I even remember having to force my jaw shut when they would ignore such a plea.
Now that I’m privileged to be put to the test, I see clearly why some would wait until they heard the “magic word.”
“Mom, look at me, pleeeeease!”
It takes going through it to realize how much energy it takes. To fully experience how hard it is to look on with excitement and portray what they’re doing as new. unique. special. Each and every day.
We really do change little over time, don’t we.
I was eight months pregnant with my second of four babies. I had stayed up late one night to paint our master bedroom, that made more sense being a playroom. I fell in love with a simple motif on the curtains I had purchased for the room — primary color squares with childlike drawings of animals and letters. I wish I had a picture to show you, but it was during the era of 35mm film.
I endeavored to re-create the squares as a border around the room by hand-painting them. It was a more tedious job than I imagined, and took much longer than I thought to hand-paint a drawing in each one.
It’s the beginning of a new year…the time when many of us think of changes we want to make…big changes.
We start out strong, energetic, and ready to make things happen.
And then it gets harder. We get sick. Tired. The unexpected happens and throws us off course. We’re so busy that we don’t have the time or energy to figure out how to do things differently.
And we feel like giving up.
Before throwing in the towel, I invite you to back up for a moment and start again. But this time, start small.
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin… Zechariah 4:10 NLT
I’m learning to set smaller goals to work toward with shorter time frames.
I love to clean things out — closets, cupboards, the pantry, you name it. I love the feeling that comes from getting rid of clutter. (Our local Salvation Army knows our name well; it seems like I’m cleaning out and scheduling them to do a pickup every couple of months!)
Cleaning out the old and making room for the new is like a breath of fresh air to me.
And I’ve learned over the years that’s how it is when we clean out the clutter in our hearts too. The hurt, disappointment, doubt, anger, resentment, regret, shame, or guilt that some of us hold onto can keep us from living the lives we were meant to live, yet sometimes we manage to cling to these feelings for years.