I turned 38 years old, and I have been trying to figure out how I feel about that. It feels like an in-between age with an added sense of urgency. Thirty-eight isn’t a milestone birthday like 35 or 40. It feels like just another year. Yet it’s close enough to 40 that it also feels like a ticking clock, reminding me of all the things I thought would have happened and hoped I would have accomplished by now, but didn’t. Suddenly, it feels like there’s a two year due date on my Big Life To-Do List. Two years until the next big milestone. Two years to complete the should’ve things and avoid regret. Two years to do something massive that would definitively mark my 30s.
Lies! I know they’re lies: the two-year due date and the expectancy of what I should have done by now. Life happens and defies any self or society imposed timeline of expectations. Take the pandemic that scoffed at our plans and locked the world down. And yet, in the same hand that I hold this truth, I hold the feeling of wanting more.
Since the pandemic lockdown, I feel like I’ve been crawling. My grandmothers both passed away in back to back years. I pivoted so much for work that my head is still spinning. Some good habits broke, and some bad ones formed. I grieved losses. I celebrated joys. I held on through the highs and lows. I’ve been moving forward, but all at a snail’s pace. All with a sluggish trudge towards something more. A big change? A big win? A big revelation? I’m not entirely sure, but perhaps this is the year I find out.
My 2023 One Word: THRIVE
It took me a while to find my one word for this year. Then I realized that I’ve been repeating a personal declaration of faith that contains it. It was a duh moment, but my one word for 2023 is THRIVE. I’m pairing it with Jeremiah 29:11 in the Good News Translation where God says:
“I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for” Jeremiah 29:11 (GNT).
This year, my prayer, my hope, and my goal is to thrive in different areas of my life. I’m holding onto God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11 to remind myself that I am not alone in my efforts to thrive. God is with me, giving me strength, and assuring me that He’s got me.
A Return To Blogging
One of the ways I want to thrive is here in this blog. Writing here has slowed over the past years and none at all last year. That’s all been unintentional. My writing focus simply shifted into writing my own curriculum for the children’s ministry at my church. I wanted to keep blogging, too, but the words seem to run out. Now, I’m back. I’m back and I’ve been writing and revising this post since my birthday a few weeks back. It seems like the words are flowing again, albeit slowly. And that’s okay. My goal is to just write.
My Children’s Book Release
Speaking of writing, I finished my children’s book, the one I started over a decade ago. It’s in the process of editing, and while I’m leaning towards self-publishing, I’m open to the traditional route. If I do self-publish, this is me holding myself accountable for releasing it this year! It is exciting and scary at the same time, but I owe it to myself and my brother. He was the inspiration for the story, and I asked him to read it to get his initial thoughts. Unfortunately for him, I had only finished about a third of the book and he read an incomplete story. I still remember when he barged into my room with an incredulous look asking why I would do that to him. Sorry, brother! You will have a copy in hand soon.
This New Year
The new year always seem to be energizing, but that energy usually tapers off or gets worn down by the daily grind. That’s why many new year’s resolutions fail. They’re not so resolute. One thing I’ve learned when facing something new is to take it one day at a time. In the ways I want to thrive this year, I’m going to remember to take it one day at time with any changes I want to make, habits I want to break or form, and any goals I want to accomplish. I hope you do, too, and may we all thrive this year.
Do you have a one word, Bible verse, declaration or mantra this year? What is it?
