Welcome 2023

The second half of 2022 was hard! Yes, I just jumped right in… (Laughing out loud! But seriously…) I encountered pressure and stress at a new level, personally and professionally, but I praise Jesus because He didn’t allow me to break. He was clearly with me, strengthening me. Have you ever had a season where you could only rely on Him?

It can be so hard if we fight it, but trusting Christ Jesus, His character, and His love, gave me peace through it all. Something the Holy Spirit helped me notice was that God began to teach me years ago (He was preparing me years ago to help me now!), when my oldest daughter started daycare, how to look ahead to upcoming transitions and prepare for them.

For example, when Harley started daycare she was a toddler. She needed and thrived off of being guiding through transitions. Meaning I would give her time to know what is coming. If we were at the park I would say, “Harley, we have five more minutes of playtime. Then we need to go home.” She didn’t have a concept of 5 minutes, but I would count down each minute for her. “Harley we have four minutes.” And then when it was time to go, she was prepared to go home. It was amazing because I never considered the importance of being prepared to transition. Times at the park before I implemented a count down used to result in Harley being very upset and crying when it was time to go.

So learning this lesson, I applied it in the beginning of 2022 looking ahead at things I knew were coming, later in the year. I felt in my spirit that my new schedule would require changes. Not just one, but multiple. (Change can be so hard, but also refreshing.)

My kids started a new school which threw my schedule into (what felt like) a tornado. Now I travel to take them to school, meaning more time in the car, and less time that could be spent elsewhere. There were areas where I help and serve in community that I needed to reduce time spent or stop altogether. As hard as it was to say no to doing good things, I knew I didn’t have the same amount of time to keep fulfilling those commitments. And the other commitments I have to my family and profession are more important. I had to let go of feeling “guilty” for choosing to honor my primary commitments to let go of other worthy commitments. I had to completely reimagine my workday and workspace. And since I no longer had the same time slot for working out, I eventually decided on a new routine altogether. It felt like everything changed. Essentially, it did.

Then at the end of 2022 we suffered a loss. I lost my beloved Grandmother (my mom’s mother and best friend). This loss brought out the good, the bad and the ugly. And it has caused me to sit and think on quite a bit of things, especially things I was avoiding. In the process, God reminded me of His priorities in my life. I’m so grateful God is not done working on me yet!

I wonder, how was 2022 for you? How did God lead you through into 2023? What did He teach and take you through?

While a lot felt new for me, God also rekindled some old as well as new dreams for me to start working toward this year in 2023. Including keeping up with this blog as much as I can. He has helped me be present and enjoy the stage of life He has me journeying. I’ve been blessed by many new friendships. He has helped me shift my perspective from complaining “God, this is hard” to “God, You are a mighty and loving Father, help me trust You. You’ve walked me through hard things before and You can do it again.”

I started this blog when I had kids. It wasn’t the most opportune time for me to start working on a dream. I felt encouraged because there were plenty of others who have done it and I believed that I could too. But there were also plenty of times when I thought I was a failure. I’d ask: Why did I try? Should I stop investing in this site? I’ve barley posted these past few years. However, if I look back at all of what I accomplished, though the blogging seemed small, there was so much to celebrate!

What brings me joy about blogging and drives me to continue is sharing the love of Jesus. Sharing how He’s been tangible in my life and to encourage you that He cares for you with a love that is completely unmatched! You are worthy and precious to Him. And I hope my relationship with Jesus encourages your walk with Him! Life in Christ Jesus is way better!

So “Welcome 2023” – I look forward to all God has planned for us this year!