
Hello everyone! A new year is upon us! I am enjoying hot cocoa and watching the snow as I write this today. A new snow for a new year, and a new beginning. To be honest, I have always been a bit sad when the Christmas season ends, on those few days both before and after New Year’s. The lights come down and all the decorations are put away. The Christmas music stops. The presents and the festivities are gone. I have always felt both a sense of being “let down” and a sense of “now what do I do?” so to speak. I have never understood why until now. I had a spiritual epiphany. This year was different.
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Why is this year different, you ask? I realized all new beginnings don’t start with New Year’s Day. And my spiritual epiphany? The time after Christmas is not a “let down” on repeat every year; nor is Christmas Day just the pinnacle of a season. Christmas is (and can be) the beginning of everything new for us all because Jesus came into the world as a new baby to make everything new, including us (2 Corinthians 5:17)! He made the choice to become a new little person so He could be with all humankind who choose Him – Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:22-23)! Christmas and the days following are not some sad end to the year! Christmas is the beginning of hope, the beginning of love, the beginning of dreams, the beginning of the end for some things, the beginning of true peace, and the beginning of wholeness and healing, inside and out – because Jesus was born in that manger!
For the first time in my life, Christmas was not about a “let down” or the after Christmas blues. Christmas was about leaving behind old patterns of thinking and the lies that had hurt me for years! Christmas was about believing truth and starting (and learning) new life patterns! Christmas was about choosing life-giving people and purpose instead of the dead, draining, aimless people and things I had been trying to fix (and chase) for a very long time. Christmas was about amazing clarity. Christmas was about actual, tangible, peace on the inside. Christmas marked the end of one thing for me this year – distraction. Christmas 2024 was truly a new beginning for me in every way – mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially! Christmas is about beginnings, not endings!
How do I intend to put this new beginning into practice in 2025 and beyond?
1) Tangible, practical, and attainable goals for all parts of my being – mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, and vocational/writing.
2) Intentional friendships and other relationships that are built on integrity with people who value me and value themselves. (Don’t expect someone who doesn’t value themselves to value you.)
3) Responsibility for my needs, wants, and emotions and letting others be responsible for themselves, even if that means we aren’t going the same direction.
4) Intentionally choosing to say “No” when it is necessary. The word “No” is a complete sentence.
5) Limiting my feedback and advice to those who ask for such things.
6) Discerning when to speak and when to be silent, including on social media.
7) Doing the hard life stuff, even when it doesn’t feel good, or I don’t want to.
8) Focus on my God-given purpose and passions instead of other people’s purposes and passions.
Here are some practical questions I asked myself that I want to share with you. These questions have helped me make important, life-changing decisions in the last few weeks, start new practices, and live differently as 2025 begins:
1) Who or what do I need to let go of?
2) What priorities do I need to rearrange?
3) What distractions (people or things) are keeping me from focusing on my God-given purpose and passion?
4) Who or what do I need to say “No” to?
5) Who or what am I taking responsibility for that is not mine to carry?
6) Am I surrounded by people of integrity who value me, and do I value them?
7) Am I a person of integrity?
8) Where do I need to be still (e.g., quiet) and not say a word?
9) Am I willing to do the hard life stuff, even when I don’t like it? If not, why?
10) What or who have I been avoiding (e.g., trauma, therapy/counseling, mentorship, Jesus, healing, etc.) that would make my life better?
My hope is that all of you will begin to see Christmas differently this year! Let it be your time of new beginnings and much healing! May Christmas never be the same for you again!
With much hope in the new year,
Elizabeth
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