I look forward to the New Year every year. It’s not about a New Year’s outfit, champagne filled parties or dancing till the wee hours. There is just something about a brand new year that inspires me.
It marks a new beginning and who doesn’t love a new beginning?
For the past two years instead of making New Year’s Resolutions I have embraced a Fruit of the Spirit. The first year I chose JOY and the second year I chose LOVE. Both years were challenging in ways that didn’t give me the Fruit I desired but instead caused me to develop them within my present circumstances.
The year I chose JOY we had to move out of our home for 6 months—-over Christmas and with our newest daughter. She didn’t get to spend her first Christmas in our home. That year each of our children celebrated their birthdays in a cramped rental home, void of our usual traditions and surroundings.
The year I chose love I found it incredibly hard to love someone I desperately wanted to.
So you can see why I was hesitant to make a choice this year. Unlike previous years, this year I contemplated what might happen to me if I chose this particular Fruit of the Spirit over that one. I’m sure that is probably against the rules, but that’s what I did.
In the end, I decided not to choose a Fruit of the Spirit this year and instead just embrace a word.
My word for this year is to RELAX.
I need to relax my housekeeping standards. It’s okay if the house isn’t photo ready for a shoot in Architectural Digest. There are 5 healthy and active children who live and learn here. It’s okay for my house to look like it. In fact, it’s a blessing for my house to look like it.
I need to just relax. I need to indulge in activities that are RELAXING, not necessarily productive or necessary. It’s okay to have moments where you aren’t really doing anything productive. It’s okay if someone sees you on the sofa, reading a book, playing a game—-and the laundry isn’t done.
I need to not glorify the act of being busy and instead take glory in just soaking it all in and enjoying the fruits of my labors (and blessings).
I need to relax my parenting standards. I need to stop beating myself up about the ways I could improve my parenting. My children love me. I am a good mother. I am not perfect, but I am enough. They are happy, healthy and know that they are loved. I should just RELAX and enjoy this season with them, before it passes.
I need to relax about blogging, SEO, comments, traffic and just write. Write because I have something to share. Write because I am a writer and that’s what we do. Write for my soul. Write for my memories. I need to just keep writing because that’s how you get better at something. After that, whatever happens, happens.
What are you choosing for 2013?
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Happy New Year
Fall Halloween Party
What to do with all those Christmas Cards
It’s a Wrap
Christmas Change
Mother’s Day: It’s complicated!
My Turkey
Traditions
We should encourage eachother in the pursuit of relaxation … I so need to let go of many things that i feel are important – which in the grand scheme – are not. We shall begin our relaxation at BEECH shall we not? 😉
I chose the word “steward” . I like studying my word in depth in the bible. Three days in and I already feel like I have learned a lot about what it means to be a faithful steward of God.
Love this. So often, relax has a self-absorbed feel to it – not that there’s anything wrong with that, inherently. But I love how you’ve expanded the word to include relaxing your standards, relaxing your inhibitions, relaxing the chains you’ve put on yourself. It’s beautiful.
Relaxing is my top priority too! Thanks for linking up, beautiful!