‘There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.’ –C.S. Lewis
I love this time between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when everything slows down and there’s time for reflection.
I’ve seen some excellent suggestions for reviewing the past year/decade and welcoming the new, such as this “Simple Guide to Reviewing 2019 and Creating Your Dream 2020.”
But as I was thinking through my own answers, I realized that one of the things I want to focus on this next year is simplifying my life.
One of the ways I feel led to do that is to seek God in everything, big or little. I want to align myself with His plan, His purposes. I can discern that in my own spirit, as informed by prayer and His Word, as well as my past experiences with God. I can also ask my body, through the subtle energy testing I’ve learned to do. The spirit and the body tap into an intelligence that goes beyond consciousness, I believe.
So, this year I’ll not only be asking myself questions like “what am I most proud of?” but also, “God, what are you most pleased with from what I did this year?”
Not only, “What have I learned?” but “what lessons do you think were most important, Lord, for me to carry into the new year?”
Not only, “What do I want to create?” but “What do you, Jesus, want to create and do through me?”
These questions excite me. I plan to spend New Year’s Eve and/or Day reflecting in my journal on these, and talking to my husband about them.
I think I already have hints of what God intends for me.
Once in Immanuel Prayer, I got the image of Jesus and me sitting on a potter’s bench. He was behind me, his arms around me, his hands on mine guiding my hands on the lump of clay. I know nothing about making pottery, which is just where Jesus wanted me: totally dependent on his guiding me. At the time, I had no idea what we were making. I was to just yield to the process, to his guiding me. Yield to the intimacy of his closeness, arms around me, hands on mine.
A few days later, he did reveal what we were making: “A vase for flowers (beauty). Two mugs–one for just being present and enjoying a hot drink, one for holding your pencils and pens, because you are a writer. And a bowl for fruit–I intend you to be fruitful. Finally, a pitcher for water–to offer a cool drink to those who are thirsty.”
I look forward to finding out in the coming year all the ways these symbols will be manifested.