12.31
Happy New Year!
It’s currently about forty-five minutes to 2009. Diana and I have the obligatory Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on for background noise, and have enjoyed an evening of chatting while working to straighten our desks and organize random files from the year.
It occurs to me that as I await the arrival of this new year, I have nothing to look forward to. Now, I don’t mean that in a negative or depressed way. I’m sure there will be exciting developments (as well as difficult trials) in 2009. However, this is the first year of my adult life where at the stroke of midnight, I won’t be anticipating some major milestone or event.
The past few years opened with the following events being expected (or hoped for) before the end of the same year:
- 2001: High School Graduation, starting community college
- 2002: Moving out from mother’s home
- 2003: Getting engaged to Diana
- 2004: Getting married to Diana
- 2005: College graduation
- 2006: Elijah’s birth, becoming a pastor
- 2007: Beginning (paid) bivocational ministry
- 2008: Moriah’s birth
Some of those things happened in neat ways that I didn’t expect. For example, I did move out of my mom’s place, and into a dorm room at Practical Bible College. At New Year’s Day 2002, I knew I wanted out, but I didn’t know I’d be going to Practical. In 2006, I knew I felt called to pursue the pastorate, so in January I communicated my intentions to my senior pastor. That conversation began a ten-month process of confirmation and discernment, and I was installed on November 19th, 2006. The church provided me a part time salary soon thereafter.
Other things happened that were altogether different from what I was looking forward to. For example, I actually met Diana in 2002 because I had gone to Practical. That clearly impacted my goals for the next two years! One of the most unexpected things happened this year: going full-time in the church, to focus on preaching. I didn’t see that coming a year ago today, but it’s been four months now, and I’m loving it.
But 2009? It’s different. The only major life goals I currently have (outside of loving God, loving my wife, raising my kids, leading my church, and serving others) are to begin MDiv studies and buy a house, but I don’t have those “scheduled in” for 2009. It’s a completely blank year, both in regards to it’s newness, and my own “big plans”. I wonder where God will lead us?
One thing is for sure: I’m really looking forward to the journey!
I thourghly enjoyed your post!
I also have “no big plans” for this year. Yes I will start babysitting and I hope to get more piano students… and I have my life goals to work on (http://missruthieaileen.blogspot.com/2008/09/20-things-i-want-to-do-in-my-life.html). but other than that….
I find it actually EXCITING that I have a clean slate…This means God has more room to work His will and ways without my personal desires and foolishly human wants getting in the way!
That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking. Having nothing on my agenda allows me to be readily obedient to the will and agenda of our Sovereign God, as he works throughout the year.
I checked out your “20 Things I want to do in my life” post. You’ve got some really great stuff on there. I’ve always had some long-term goals in the back of my mind, but I don’t know that I’ve ever really written them out. Perhaps that would make another good blog post sometime soon.
[...] I wrote my year-end post last year, I had no idea what to expect for the year to come. As I look back at 2009, I’m struck with [...]