On Monday, Melissa talked about how she wants to live this year intentionally. I find it ironic because I feel like last year was about just surviving for me and my small family. We survived my husband not having a job for several months, we survived and adored the new addition to our family, and we survived many familial stresses.
If I were to guess, I’d have to say that we aren’t done surviving.
But is surviving really living?
Yes, 2011 was rough in so many ways. I know that 2012 will bring its own challenges, though. And I’m tired of just surviving.
Ann Voskamp, a woman whom I admire and learn from daily, started naming her years beginning in 2008. I start naming mine in 2012.
Last year, I lived each day as it came, with no schedule, no reason, just tossed by the waves of life. This year? This year I want to live each day with purpose. With intention. Unhindered by the things, the stresses that so easily entangle me. Unhindered by my own lack of purpose.
However, I am prone to forget even the simplest directions. So what am I going to do to remind myself to live with purpose? Remind myself with notecards in prominent places. Places that I visit every day. Places that will get noticed, even if I forget.
Places like beside my computer. Places like the bathroom mirror. Places like the sink. And even places like behind the changing table.
If I’m going to live with purpose, I need to purposefully remind myself at many different times throughout my day. Because otherwise I would drown in the sea with the waves that seem too big for me. The tasks that seem to loom over me like a tsunami even if they are just ripples in a pond.
What does living purposefully look like to me? It’s making sure that the house stays clean, that laundry is done, and that I spend quality time with my daughter. It’s taking the time to reconnect with God, to spend time with Him daily. And it’s even taking some time for me when I need it. Purposefully doing and not just going with the flow. Living life, not just reacting to it.
How do you plan on living your life in 2012? Do you have major or minor changes to make this year?
