Happy New Year.
The new year is always a time of reflection and a time of looking to the future. For some reason, as the clock strikes midnight and that calendar rolls over to the new year, it feels like everything is fresh and new again. What happened last year doesn’t matter as we begin our new goals for the new year.
As I look back on 2023, it was a great year. My family and I enjoyed an adventure to Malawi, Africa. That was the highlight of the year for most of us. There were many other things through the year that were amazing and God has been working in me and my family to grow and mature our faith a little more. Not all of the year was amazing. We have had our struggles and challenges, but God is faithful.
Last night, as we were waiting for the new year to roll around, my wife had some activities for us that were a reflection on last year and what we are looking forward to next year. One of the activities was to describe the coming year in one word. A word that expresses what you are looking forward to in the new year or what you want to see in the new year. The word that came to my mind was “explore.” The last three years have been very busy at work and I have been putting in many extra days at the hospital. November and December finally saw some free time and open weekends. Over the last two months, I have realized that I have become a little stagnant. I go to the same stores, eat at the same restaurants, do the same things every week. I rarely get outside of my little area of town. Everything about me has become monotonous. “Explore” just seemed like a good word for the year. Expand my knowledge. Get out of my rut. I have always enjoyed exploring and have never been one to sit at home. But, over the last few years, the complacency of life has settled in and my comfort zone began to shrink. I think the proper word for that is laziness. Despite the long hours and hard work at the hospital, I have become lazy.
I am excited about exploring and I look forward to the challenges of the new year and I look forward to the joys and victories that will come with the challenges. Come along and join me as we explore together.
What’s your word for 2024?
