I am purposefully a little late on the New Year’s Resolutions Blog Post Train. Why? Because …
1) Anything you tried to commit to for 2019 that was in vain has probably already failed. Right? (I saw you sneak that bite of pasta!)
2) The internet is bombarded with resolutions on our external habits, dieting, finances, quitting habits, getting more sleep, having more fun… etc.
3) I’ve been too busy trying lose the ridiculous 10lbs I gained over Christmas!! fail
4) The resolution I want to share with you is not only a good and necessary thing but I believe it is something God is urgently calling us to take, so I wanted your full attention.
Deeper Still – A New Year’s Resolution for the Soul.
Many of you are exiting 2018 completely battle weary. A battle that has slowly chipped away at your finances, marriages, thought life, faith, family, mental health, you name it… Where you once felt you’ve ‘got this’ has turned into what you fear is an irreversible limp.
That’s who this resolution is for. You have always seemed to have had the vigour and passion to push past the obstacles, claiming them as motivation to push harder in your life. But now, you find yourself not just incapable of moving the obstacles but drained of all spirit and desire to even want to. You found yourself at the beginning of 2018 saying “well, last year was tough but this year will be better! Things are going to turn around” but then it didn’t and you found yourself at the end of 2018 saying “what was that? ” and “where did I go?” You’re feeling lost my friend and you’re feeling like you can’t be found and you’re feeling like you’re too far broken.
As Ann Voskamp writes in The Broken Way, “Who doesn’t know what its like to smile thinly and say you’re fine when you’re not, when you’re almost faint with pain? There isn’t one of us not bearing the wounds from our own bloody battles.”
My fearless friend, you’ve weighted your schedule and plate with resolutions to fix what you think isn’t good enough about you. You’re letting your shame of not being enough to declare this a new year to fix your body, your weight, your bank account, your lack of friends, your marriage, your lifestyle, your external happiness. And underneath this heap of resolutions based on your insecurity of not being enough, is a soul begging for nourishment and a spirit longing for connection.
This year, God wants all of you.
I sat down one afternoon in prayer, feeling a lot like you do right now and I heard Jesus speak to me in a way that brought me both tension and relief. “Sarah, first your heart, then your mind…now your spirit.”
My first response was, “Aren’t we done yet?!” I felt His peace so strong but my soul wanted to run and hide and tell God, “Nah, I’m good!” and make 100 other New Year’s resolutions to numb this moment. “I’ll start jogging, I swear! I won’t drink any more wine, I promise!” I wanted to give him a high five and let him know that “I got it” and then eat every last evidence of Christmas baking available.
But my fearless friends, I know the end results of this powerful and deep work in Christ. First, my heart – as I gave my life to him 17 years ago, he set my feet upon a rock and washed away all of my sins and gently placed me on a path to promises I could never have imagined. Then, my mind – as I allowed God to invade every corner of my thinking, renewing my mind and freeing myself from the torment of fear and depression and now he is asking for my soul.
Thy will be done. (but be gentle)
What I feel so incredibly strong this year is God calling me back to creativity. I feel so powerfully that by nourishing my creativity that God will begin to take me deeper still. I want to invite you on this journey with me. I’m not just taking about the arts or interpretive dance (oh please no!) but opening my heart to God’s creative healing through art yes, but through wherever he leads.
Can you make this new year the year for your soul & spiritual care?
Can you lay down the other resolutions that you are doing to ‘fix yourself’?
We can do it together.
Love,
Sarah B
