On this day, as we remember Martin Luther King, Jr., let us be grateful for those who have been courageous leaders. Let us give thanks for the way these leaders have shown us to be driven by love and stand up for what is right. Let us use their example as a guide for ourselves and our children to be strong enough do the right thing when the right thing is not always easy.
On this day, let our hearts be full of love for all.
Life never really quite works out the way we plan, does it? I have noticed that every time my to-do list gets ambitious, I end up humbled. The beginning of 2014 has been no exception.
The holidays have wound down, and the past couple weeks were what should have been the return to regularly scheduled life. Well, regularly scheduled life, with backlog. You know how it goes. Some things get neglected due to holiday plans, and there’s catching up to be done. Oh, and then throw in all of those New Year goals in addition to the things you normally do in a week, and… the to-do list fills up!
I had plans to hit the ground running the Monday after the holidays were over, but God had other plans for us.
My daughter got sick, and we had to take a break for a few days. Just as my daughter started feeling better, my son got sick, and we had to take a break again.
Though I had so many good intentions of doing more and doing better, I had to stop, look at what was before me, and surrender to it. That happens all the time, doesn’t it? We get carried away making plans, and roadblocks get thrown in our way.
In hindsight, I had a case of do-too-much-itis, and these roadblocks made me reevaluate my priorities.
My family’s illnesses made it impossible to accomplish all that I wanted to get done. I had to narrow my focus and just do what was absolutely necessary. Even then, I still could not get everything done myself and had to ask for help. (Confession time: It really went more like — got in over my head, panicked, and then asked for help at the last minute. I definitely need to do better at recognizing when I am going to need help.)
So 2014 has not started out as planned. I tried to reflect and pray and learn some lessons. Overall, it was not a big deal that we were slowed down for a couple weeks, and we are lucky that these roadblocks were just temporary. Now we are back to regularly scheduled life and can plug away at the backlog. (Knock on wood.) I am sure I will have more cases of do-too-much-itis in the future.. that’s one lesson I will probably never learn.
Do you ever suffer from do-too-much-itis? How do you handle it when roadblocks get put in your way and you can’t get everything done?
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The above explains why I haven’t been writing much. It was nothing earth-shattering; just life getting in the way.
I just wanted to thank everyone who has been so positive and encouraging since I have started writing here. I have even had a few people request that I write about certain topics. I am working on them!
Well, the New Year is upon us again. I’ve been thinking a lot about the past year and all that has changed for me.
I just love that quote by Zora Neale Hurston, and I think about it with every changing year. While there were some questions this year, overall I believe there were more answers, and for that I am grateful.
Reflections
In February, I resigned from my job to become a full-time stay at home mom. It was a huge and difficult decision that I agonized over. Staying home was the path I felt I needed to take for the good of my family, but it was not at all easy to decide to take a break from my career. I do think it was the best choice, but I still regret my inability to be in two places at once. (Darn it!)
A lot of other things changed as well. I started running again and ran a half-marathon in October. I found a groove with taking care of the kids and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of time I’ve had with them. I spent more time outside than I have since I was a kid. I made some new friends. I started reading more. We joined a new (to us) church and have gone (almost) every Sunday. We continued to make improvements in eating healthier.
There were a couple of challenging things about this past year also. This isn’t the right time to write about them, but I felt the need to acknowledge that not everything has been sunshine and rainbows. But God gives us challenges to help us grow, right? I am learning everyday.
The Coming Year
I have never been one for making “resolutions,” but I do have a number of goals I am working on. Initially I made a list of about 25 goals to share in this post, but I think I will keep them to myself for right now and share them in pieces over time.
All of my goals for the coming year can be summed up in 2 words anyway: Do Better.
Everyday I strive to be a better mother, wife, friend, and person. Everyday I pray for God to show me the way.
Happy New Year to all! May your year be filled with many blessings!
This is my first post… I’ll make it short and sweet.
I’ve been wanting to get back into writing as a hobby, so I’m just going to take the leap and start writing here. It’s not perfect; just a place to write. I didn’t make a fancy design. I’m not planning to follow a posting schedule. I’m just going to write when I feel like it, breaking all the “rules” of blogging as I go, and I’m okay with that.
If you want to follow along, please subscribe with one (or more!) of the handy buttons in the sidebar. Thanks for visiting! More soon!