Thursday, January 06, 2011

Twenty Eleven

I'm always amazed at how wonderful and distracting the Christmas season is. And I'm usually even more surprised how refreshing it is to climb out of that holiday hole as soon as the new year strikes. This year was no different. I found myself invigorated by a return to the routine and obligatory coupled with a renewed sense of purpose and hope for the new year.

I could eat my words from last year's resolution post. I knew within a few days of writing it that I had reached too high in some of my goals, particularly my goal of 52 Fridays, a plan to have people over for dinner every Friday for the whole year. Zero--that's exactly the number of Fridays that I hosted people in my home last year. It turns out that 2010 had other plans in store for me and my family. Lots of maturing and searching and working and repenting and forgiving and rejoicing. Lots and lots. But, as a result, I stand here with my feet planted on the edge of 2011 feeling more hopeful than I was last year. Not wishful or dreaming. But hopeful. Honest-to-goodness hopeful.

I have not thought much about resolutions this new year. I suppose I'm feeling a little gun shy this time around lest I miss the mark again so terribly. As Matt and I ate Chinese food last night to celebrate 9 years of marriage (Yes, NINE!!), I told him how much I'm realizing that life has a way of carving out a path that I never planned for. It's a process that's so frightening in it's unpredictability and yet unmistakably beautiful because the plan has been there all along.

My bags are packed, 2011. I'm barely ready for this.

2 comments:

maryanne helms said...

I agree that there has to be much reality in choosing goals. Praying for particular areas of marriage, but not things like: I will do x fifteen minutes each day. It makes a person defeated and then less motivated to try...least, this is what I find. And so many goals, the really specific ones are good to be private, I think. Then, when we fail, we are likely to pick up and keep going, rather than feel ashamed and frustrated....

RT said...

Committing to anything via blog is slightly terrifying! But I'm impressed that you wanted to do something so grand, and that you exposed yourself. If you going to risk something, risk big! :) I love your honestly here. I'm barely ready for 2011 as well... but I welcome it with open arms. Here we go!