December: Times, seasons and lists…

Written by in Everyday Life things..., Inspirational, Personal

I am truly thankful for every month that I am alive, but I have to say that December is probably my favourite month of the year 🙂

IMG_1093Not just because of Christmas and all the wonderful things that it brings and represents, but also because I get to celebrate my birthday on the 4th! 🙂

By the way, thank you to everyone that capitalised on my love for Red Velvet goodies and blessed me with them this year. I was left feeling very loved and indeed, high on sugar lol! 😉

For me personally, my year starts on my birthday, as opposed to January the 1st… though the fact that the two dates are quite close doesn’t hurt that much. 😉 So my birthday routine does include a component of looking back on what the year has been like and seeing where I stand now vs how it started out a year ago. And in looking back over the past twelve months, all I can say is that God has been good.

I believe the typical year for most people (self included) goes something like this : Start January all charged up with lots of energy and optimism, armed with a list of all the great and wonderful things you’re going to do and achieve. Some of the items may even be carry overs from previous years, but you remain optimistic nonetheless that ‘This is the year!’ 😉

As days turn to months and the routine and rigor of daily living sets in, you start to lose some steam around March/April but reason that there’s still time, as we are still before the halfway mark of June, so you soldier on. More life happens (or doesn’t happen, depending on what was on the list) and by the time its September, without any ‘significant’ gains, disillusionment sets in, and you start praying to just make it to December; so that the year can end and you can start all over again when the New year comes rolling in. Sounds familiar? Can I get a witness? 😉

Now, I have nothing against writing resolutions and planning, but I do have a problem with being a slave/prisoner of the list. One of the things I’ve found to be a source of frustration and despair for most, is when we get so fixated on the list of resolutions we wrote and the timelines we attached to them that if a year doesn’t exactly follow the script we’d written, then we end it in a state of disappointment and classify it, and often ourselves as failures. We throw in the towel and overlook everything else that may have been positive about that year, and focus only (often brooding) on the items that remain unchecked on the list.

Again, yes – planning and writing out a wish-list is good, and I personally  love to see things in my mind (and on paper) ahead of time, but in all my planning, I have learned that there are some variables that are just not in our hands to control. Like other people (and the decisions they may make), certain resources and their availability to us, and sometimes even time, and the author of time. This last one is a bit harder to deal with considering the fact that we are not the ones who hold life and determine the times of every living creature on this planet. So let me talk about this one a bit more.

God is neither confined by nor restricted to our 24/7 weeks and 365-day years, but rather working in times and seasons. A thousand years is like a day to Him, and a season can be a week or even twelve years. We cannot control manipulate or even give God an ultimatum. But because of who He is, we can always trust Him.

Many times, our plans do overlap with His seasons, and that’s always awesome! But there are also times when they don’t. That doesn’t mean that our dreams will never come true. It just means that the timeline is different, and we can release those dreams from our timeline to His. Trusting His character and promise to make all things work together for good to them that love Him, and making all things beautiful in their time. And while we wait for that to happen, we continue to work hard at what is in our hands to do, we continue to grow and develop the other areas of us which need developing and we continue to live and enjoy life to the fullest! Relishing it for the blessing that it is, and realising that however important/urgent the items may seem, there really is more to life than what is on that list.

In fact, I am always taken aback in my ‘Year-end review’  when I realise just how many blessings I’ve received, opportunities I’ve been given, relationships and connections I’ve made and memorable moments I’ve had during the course of that year that I never even asked for via the list. Things and people God knew I needed even though I didn’t, and  hadn’t conceived in my mind to put them down. In your own life, think of the days when you were broke with no lunch money or bus fare and an old friend or relative just showed up and gave you a ride, or bought you lunch or gave you a K100 note. The times when your business was literally on its knees and a customer you’d even forgotten about came through and made a payment. The times when you were on the road and was almost involved in a road traffic accident, or maybe you were involved in one and your life was spared. The times you were unwell or feeling down in the dumps and someone picked up the phone and called you just when you needed it. And, yes, even the unexpected birthday gift of red velvet cupcakes 🙂
I bet none of those things were on your New Year’s resolution list in January but God provided them just when you needed them, nonetheless. I believe that’s a track record that can be trusted, so hang in there if you’re still waiting on certain things to materialise in your life. The Calendar year may have ended but God’s love and care for you hasn’t. You’ll reap in due season if you faint not.

 

And so, I’m ending December 2014 on a very grateful note. For all the things I received in this year that I never asked for (which far outnumber the 10 or so items on my list), while continuing to entrust my life and my future to an amazing and trustworthy God. And this being my final post for the year, I am also thankful for you, my readers. For allowing me to share my heart with you via this blog in 2014, and for granting me the opportunity to speak into your lives. Your feedback and encouragement have helped me soldier on to this point, and I can promise that we will take this to the next level in 2015!

I would love to hear from you, so drop me a line when you can with any comments on this, or any other rants, raves and reviews.

Here’s to a very Merry Christmas and an Awesome year ahead!

 

Love you! xoxo

After reading to the end...what do you think? :-)