I wrestle with all my failures from this past year, all those goals and dreams still unmet. And feel suffocated with the expectation that I need to come up with great goals and plans for the next year arriving.
It leaves me feeling anxious and depressed. Not exactly the person you want at your new year’s eve party.
This year, knowing this tendency in me, I am determined to not fall into that pattern of thinking. And if you tend to fall into that pattern of thinking too, then here is some Truth for both of us.
That God doesn’t ask for perfection, or that we crush every goal we set. And failures and set backs from our human perspective may actually be setting us up to be exactly where God wants us to be.
2021 may have felt like a gap year, like not much was accomplished. But maybe it was behind the scenes. The stage was getting set for something to come. Just because God seems silent, doesn’t mean He’s not working.
A year ago, as we headed into 2021, many joked, and some had high hopes, of it being a totally different year than 2020. In some ways it was different and in some ways it was just more of the same. But, despite all its ups and downs, I think it has made some things clearer.
Like the value of being together, that technology is no replacement for human touch. That we aren’t nearly as in control as we think, but it’s OK, because God always is. That walking in mercy, grace, and selfless love is always a good practice, and one that we can always improve. That being slow to speak and quick to listen is always a good move. And that maintaining flexibility, especially when it comes to our calendars and planning, is a great way to keep ourselves from breaking.
My prayer as we head into 2022 is that we may remember our lessons in vision from 2021 and we may more clearly see God in our lives and have a better view of how we can better live for and serve Him in this coming year.