Grace and Renewal in 2016

Trust in God & Live for Others: Those were my themes for 2015.

These themes will continue forever in my life, but I do think that this year, in my deepest lows and mountain-top highs, I learned about both. That’s the thing about having a roller-coaster year, both the best and worst of my life: it forced me to change my perspective and let go and let God.

Now that I have gone through even the hardest moments of my life, I am grateful for the things that God manifested out of the dark. In 2015, I met myself, I reveled in finding the love of my life, I saw the complexity that is being human and the importance of love for each other. These things will serve me for as long as I live. 

In looking ahead to 2016, I have a strong feeling that it is going to be a pivotal year for me. One year from today, I think I will be reflecting on how every aspect of my life has changed. Armed with my 2015 themes, I do believe each change will be for the better. That is why I have chosen the following themes for the next 365 days.

Grace

This means God’s grace: and allowing him to act through me. It means love, patience, and kindness. It also means taking on each new step of my life with calmness, faith and trust. Now that I know myself better, I know that I tend to become overwhelmed with the importance of everything, or at least perceived importance. I would like to work on reigning myself in and allowing my emotions to bring greatness, not stress. This will be of tantamount importance if the big changes I am looking forward to happen over the course of the year.

Renewal

Coming from the tumultuous 2015, I finally feel like myself. The good parts of me are starting to shine through again, and the bad parts have been, and will continue to be, worked on. This year will start with a newness of heart, spirit, and sight. As I face what I hope will be the beginning of the rest of my life, I feel a sense of excitement and optimism that I had lost for a while. 

Actions

Of course, resolutions wouldn’t be anything without some solid actions to make them concrete and doable.

• Having just bought a new to-do list template, I am excited to break away from the screens and take on each day anew with a list made of good old pen and paper. This will help me focus and stay calm no matter how busy my day is.
• I will create a “master list” of projects I want to get done throughout the year, and only put a few up on my dry erase board each month. That way, I can remember each goal without feeling the urgency of remembering them all at once.
• Some of the above projects will include cleaning out the old. My desk, closet, this blog, and probably a bunch of other things, all need to be overhauled.
• I will continue to make a conscious effort to make plans with people I keep meaning to see. (My dry erase board will help with this!)
• I will face big transitions with calmness, patience, and discussion, and not let myself get lost in my own (admittedly too fast) mind.
• I will make note of things in a notebook I carry around, instead of attempting to deal with everything the moment it pops into my head. I will also use this notebook to jot down anything and everything, as a journal, an idea pad, etc.

Wishing you a beautiful 2016, and an extra sparkly end to 2015. Happy New Year!