For those who have followed along with my sporadic blogging for the past few years, you know that I don't really believe in making new year's resolutions. Despite being a professional procrastinator, I believe that if you want to change something about yourself or your life, you should do it as soon as you wish it, instead of waiting for a new year. Because trust me, all you're doing in waiting for the new year to change is procrastinating.I know I'm being hypocritical in saying that, but just know that I'm actually mostly talking to myself when I'm writing these posts.
I'm not calling this a new year's resolution because I started to try to implement this into my life when I first re-tweeted this picture back in November. I saw the below picture and instantly found it relevant to the struggles of my life.
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I have a really big problem with making my life more complicated than it needs to be, which I think is probably an issue for a lot of twentysomethings. The one that personally has the most impact on me is the fourth statement: Have questions? Ask. I have a bit of a pride thing where I don't like to ask questions if I don't understand something; I'm determined to figure it all out on my own. So I want to ask more questions. I'm at the point in my life where I have friends that are getting married and having babies and moving on with their busy lives and I miss them. So I want to make a point to stay in contact with them (though I still think it should be a two-way street). And various other applications these things have to my life which I won't go into.
So here's to the Year of Simplicity.
I'm also going to take the time to tell y'all about an epiphany I had last week (which I find kinda funny because last week was Epiphany). Last weekend, during church, something struck me. It didn't have anything to do with my pastor's sermon on listening prayer (though he said something that sparked my mind's bunny trail, which I don't exactly remember). Anyway, I feel like everyone wants to figure out who they are. That was my goal in 2013 (the Year of Independence) and frankly, I didn't get very far. I did this 30 things blog series where I answered questions about myself, but I realized last Sunday that if I asked myself those same questions this year, my answers would probably be different. It's impossible to figure out who you are because you change all the time. Lewis Carroll, in one of my all-time favourite books, writes, "I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then." (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass)
This is very true. One of the characteristics of this world is impermanence. Our personalities change, our lives changes, our situations change. It's simultaneously wonderful and frustrating. But one of my favourite characteristics about God is that He doesn't change. (I briefly shared this on American thanksgiving as it was the one thing I was thankful for.) Hebrews states that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (13:8). In Malachi, the Lord promises "for I the Lord do not change" (3:6). So I want to focus on that this coming year. Instead of figuring out who I am (because that's a hopeless feat), I want to figure out who God is. I realize that I can't know everything about God but He promised in Jeremiah that those who seek Him will find Him (29:13).
I believe that it's worth knowing who the God I worship and speak about actually is.
I might post some of the things I'm learning on this blog, if I can successfully formulate my thoughts into words (which hasn't been my strong point lately). So here's what I propose: if you wish to hear about my realizations and such, keep reading this blog; if not, then don't.
I've been a Christian for 16 years (ish) and I still don't really know who God is. What's that about?
So here's to the Year of Discovering God.
