2008 will be different

This is the theme running through my head over and over lately: 2008 will be different.

The last 3 months of 2007 were so intense I couldn’t see the sky above me as I felt like I was drowning in too many things on my plate. I don’t think I’ll be in that same position this year. True, there will be seasons where there will be a lot on my plate, but they won’t last as long and as I learn to delegate more and let things go, handling it will be easier.

With the onslaught of conference season (and the death of my treadmill), my workout (which had been fairly consistent for over 6 weeks before returning to work) ground to a complete halt. Today, I purchased a family leisure pass for the next year and went for a run at the Field House. That felt really good. Exercise always helps me feel better. The great thing about the City of Saskatoon Leisure pass is that you can pay by the month, everyone gets their own card, and you can cancel at any time. And we can access any leisure centre and all the outdoor pools in the summer. It will be good to get back into an exercise routine. Working out definitely helps with stress, which ironically, seems to be the first thing I STOP doing when I start getting stressed.

There’s another reason I wanted to get a family leisure pass: my oldest son is on a medication that has some negative side effects. Exercise would be very good for him to help offset the effects. He enjoys cross-country running and has been part of the team at school ever since he could be a part of it. I also like to run, so I thought this would be a great way for both of us to exercise, by doing it together. I think it will help us (me) stay consistent, if there’s someone else I’m working out with. Plus I’m looking forward to having that time to spend with my son. Our personality types are similar in the fact that we are pretty rigid and inflexible and so we butt heads quite often (thank the Lord for my husband, the great mediator between the two of us!). I feel bad that we don’t connect as well as I would like, and see this as a common interest where we can spend some good time together.

Having a family leisure pass will also be a great way for us as a family to do fun things together so I’m looking forward to that, too.

I believe 2008 will be different because I want to be more deliberate about my relationships. In the busyness of life, these things often get left to the wayside. Mentally, I consider ‘accomplishing something’, ie: getting the work done, more important, even though I KNOW relationships should be more important than getting something done. My husband has been reminding me of that (and I hope he continues to remind me because I’m going to need to hear it a lot – I’m so ‘results driven’, I think its going to be a slow process getting out of that mindset). Anyways, just like at work, if I don’t deliberately block off time to do something I know I need to do, it won’t get done because all the ‘immediate’ stuff just takes over. I want to be more deliberate about contacting my friends and spending time with them. Relationships ARE important and I want to invest more in them than I have in the last few months.

And I also think 2008 is going to be different because I’ve been asking God to show me the opportunities for me to follow Him. And He’s been doing that. Just before Christmas I was ducking into Midtown Mall to quickly pick up something (it was just after supper). As I was entering the mall, I noticed an older man outside the entrance to the foodcourt rumaging through the garbage can outside. I walked into the mall and sensed God telling me to go back and offer to buy the man supper. I stopped in my tracks. Did I just hear that right? That couldn’t have been God. But again I sensed Him speaking that same thing, more emphatically this time. I’m sure God has told me to do other ‘crazy’ things in the past and I’ve always ignored Him. But this time I decided I was not going to ignore Him this time. I walked back outside and asked a total stranger if I could buy him supper. And he said ‘ok’. So I bought him supper and went on my way. “Whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me.” It just takes one step of obedience where normally I would ignore God’s voice that opens my heart to see more of what He is doing and where He is working.

I watched a video of Michael Frost speaking at a conference and it made me think. He was talking about missional church and how this means that EVERYTHING one does shifts to be centered around mission and how this changes your whole worldview. I can’t put what he said into adequate words to describe it. I highly recommend watching the video. My heart resonates with what he is saying. I want to participate with Christ and His work, no matter what the cost. I was speaking to a friend last week that is in a very dark place. I got off the phone and asked God what He would have me do. Both my husband and I sensed God telling us the same thing. It’s not the easy road and as I was thinking about why I wasn’t trying to squirm my way out, the phrase “the love of Christ compels you” came to me. I want to be compelled by the love of Christ. For a long time now I’ve been anxious that I’m wasting my life. I want to be a part of the work of the Kingdom. I think God will take me further into this in 2008 (as long as I’m willing to listen and follow Him).

So there you have it. I believe 2008 is going to be different. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.