{This is a repost of something that Bekah wrote a year ago on her personal blog}
Starting a new year can be such a gift. Making new resolutions creates a fresh opportunity to dream and hope for all that this next year will be. We all know how important setting goals and creating vision are to actually see a preferred future realized.
As one year ends, we might be feeling some regret or desire for things to be different. It can be tempting to go “shopping” for the next person we will strive to be. This year I will be skinny! This year I will be funny. This year I will be the mom who blows everyone away on Pinterest. This year I will be the person that so-in-so needs me to be. This year will be the year where I finally get my life in order.
But here’s the thing: God did not create you to be just anybody. He created you to be someone, specific & unique– someone that only you, with all your unique gifts, passions, story and wiring, can be.
In our culture there is a deep-seated lie, and most of us have bought in. It is one that says, “You can be and do whatever you want if you just work hard enough.” Sound familiar? Caught up in all that is the American dream, this sounds wonderful, and seems true. Choose your destiny! Just put your mind to it! The sky is the limit! This may sound like really good news, but in fact, it is misleading and will likely lead to burn-out and disappointment as we pursue a life that God did not intend for us to live.
When we don’t know who we are, we let the world around us tell us who we should be. In the mom category alone, there must be a million narratives to choose from. Many of us are trying to live a life other than our own.
Creating and living a life of meaning does not happen by acquiring something that is outside of us, but by discovering and unleashing that which is inside of us already. God created our inmost being. He knit us together in our mother’s womb. We must become familiar with who we actually are. The person we desire to be and become, cannot be disconnected from our past and all that is inside of us.
This is not something that happens in an hour at the coffee shop. It is an ongoing exercise in noticing who we uniquely are, and as Kate Harris says, “watching for hints about what is the little piece of God’s heart that he has set in us as His image bearer.”
It is a careful exploration of our stories. Where have I come from? What have I experienced? What do patterns and themes from my story say about me?
It is honestly examining our God-given gifts, talents and strengths. What do I have a natural bent towards?
It is naming our deepest passions & longings. What does my heart really care about?
It is exploring all that uniquely makes me, me and you, you– and trusting that all of these things are not random. As Christ followers, the God of the universe actually makes his dwelling is us. Is your mind blown by that? The Spirit lives in us and desires to guide, direct, and bring to light who we really are.
And all of this for a purpose. Kingdom purpose.
God wants you to show up in the day-to-day, fully you. He knows the exact place he has set you and circumstances he has put you in, and he has purpose for how you uniquely show up.
So, as you make resolutions for the next year consider this: Are your resolutions written for you or for someone you are trying to be? Maybe, 2015 ought to be the year where you make a careful exploration of who you actually are.
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“When our understanding of our own greatness (true God-given greatness) increases, God’s greatness (in our minds & hearts) will inevitably increase.”
-Tom Paterson, creator of the LifePlan