Happy New Year! So I’m a little late to the party…how embarrassing.
As 2016 ended, I heard many people say things like…
“I’m so done with 2016!”
“2016 was the worst year I’ve ever had!”
“2016 totally kicked my ass!”
I even heard a cashier at the store exclaim to her customer, “I didn’t have one good thing happen to me in 2016”.
Wow, I just cant help to think that’s some major bad juju to be putting out there!
We are 19 days into 2017 and I have had the opportunity to really reflect on my experiences in 2016 and pray about my journey. Truth be told, 2016 was not my favorite year. It was a difficult year, mixed with some major changes and often times I felt like things were being unearthed, and exhumed…for lack of a better word. I lost friendships, people I loved passed away (some tragically), my husband lost his job, and family members remained estranged.  And this is not to mention that the state of our world, especially with the 2016 Election, caused good people to turn against one another.  I think it’s safe to say we were all feeling something very raw.

But lets go back to the word UNEARTHED. What an odd way to describe a year! The synonyms are: discover, find, reveal, expose, turn up, uncover, bring to light, ferret out, root up.
And there it is… root up or better still, up root. That’s how I felt. Just when I got comfortable, God would up root me and take me into unchartered territory. I was forced to deal with emotions that had been buried and consequences beyond my control.  Every synonym you see that describe unearthed is how I felt throughout the year. And then this came to me in prayer…
 Colossians 3 Put On the New Self
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
And there it is. Raised up sounds a lot like up root to me…does it you. Im convinced, because of God’s word, that He wants us all to be ‘raised up’ and be made new in Him. It may not feel good to be exposed to light, after being in the dark, but it’s in our suffering that we come to know Jesus and are able to respond to the suffering of others.
I’ve taken these first 19 days of the new year and ive prayed and reflected. I decided  to embrace what God had done throughout my 2016 and He open the door for me to enter anew.
I also did there 3 things…
  • I wrote a gratitude list of everything I was grateful for in 2016. I came up with 23 things/ people/ and places that blessed me.
  • I made a list of all of my passions, talents and gifts. I looked at the things I enjoyed as a child, I asked my loved ones what they thought and I prayed about what my gifts were. I wrote down 12, not bad.
  • Finally, I made a list of things that I needed to let go of. What am I holding onto that prevents me of opening my hands to Christ and put on a new self?

 

Oh…and I watched Good Will Hunting. LOL. One thing I learned and lived out in 2016 is if you want things to change, change your perspective. You can see many of my blog posts about that very topic. Good Will Hunting is a great example of changing your perspective and accepting the gifts God gave you. It’s about opening up that closed fist and letting God fill it with truth, love and mercy.  I’ve learned how to be grateful. I’ve learned to surrender.