"New Year, New Me"

"New Year, New Me" We hear this all the time, so it has sort of lost its meaning. But, when people get serious about making a change, there’s no holding us back!

I had no idea what I wanted this year to bring, so I have really been seeking God for the answers. And, wow- I’m a little frightened by what He has revealed, so far.

2017 was a big year for my family. Scott became vice president of the company he works for and began a 5 year plan to buy a portion of the company. I finally started to have more days pain-free than  days with back pain and headaches. Morgan got married and I now have a son-in-law. Anna started taking CBD oil for seizures and for the first time in a long time, we are seeing hopeful results. Sarah went back to public school after homeschooling for 6 years. And Clay started his last year in elementary school. Needless to say, life has just moved right along in a positive way. But, God wants to do so much more- so much more than just surface-level stuff. And that’s where I get a little frightened.

I believe His word that reminds me “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18), so my feeling frightened isn’t coming from a place of fear. Rather, it comes from a place of knowing that taking that first step past the surface-level stuff and going in with my whole heart open before Him to the next level is going to be tough! Because going deeper into my soul means to open up those vulnerable places that I just haven’t wanted to open up for so long. As a flawed human, I’ve convinced myself that it’s easier to just keep going through the motions, playing the ‘good Christian’ role, keeping everything in order and picture-perfect, and letting all of that yucky stuff that has hurt my heart just stay swept under the rug. After all, everything looks good, right?

I think we can all have a tendency to fall into this mindset if we aren’t careful. How many times have we walked away from a situation that would have been hard, but would have caused us to grow, just because we don’t want to take that first step beyond the surface? It’s very easy to stay where we are comfortable rather than put forth the effort and go through the work and pain of reaching something more. Work and pain are hard! But, isn’t the reward worth it? We’ve probably all known someone who has trained for a marathon. They go through months and months of painful training just to get to the point of being able to push their bodies to the absolute limit of running a marathon. I don’t think that a single one of those people would ever say that they regretted the work and pain that they put into running and finishing that marathon because the reward was worth it. And going beyond the surface level in our spiritual walk with God is most definitely just as worth it- even more so!

So, here we go 2018. Say it out loud: “New year, new me.” No holding back or hiding on the surface. This is the year to completely trust God with everything that you’ve held back. Don’t let fear stop you. For me, I struggle with putting myself out there and being totally transparent for fear of being rejected. But, that’s silly! I can’t care of about whether I am accepted or rejected by people because the truth is that I am ALWAYS accepted by God. So, whatever your personal challenge may be today, make 2018 the year to defeat it. Make 2018 the year that you will go farther, love deeper and find a love so great that it could only be His work in your life! I promise you- God never disappoints!