At the end of every year I have this sudden panic attack. You know, the kind where you realize that all those good intentions to fulfill last year’s resolutions have somehow faded in the reality of the 365 busy and demanding days. And all that is left is one gigantic pile of mama guilt.
As moms, we are great at setting goals. But sometimes, between the feeding, the bathing and the cleaning {add your daily To-Do’s in here}, the big aspirations get pushed to the wayside in favor of the immediate.
Crafting resolutions can be tricky business. We don’t want to set ourselves up for failure, and neither do we want to set our sights too low.
This is why I’m totally preaching to the choir when I say this: We need to ponder and pour over our resolutions with serious amounts of prayer.
Before we stick those Post-It notes on our mirrors and jot long lists in our journals, let’s take a moment to pause and douse ourselves in Scripture and prayerful petitions.
And as we do so, let’s commit to asking ourselves the following:
– Is this physically and emotionally feasible? (Making a goal that your 20 month old will talk in full sentences, know her complete alphabet and be starting to read by age 2 may not be in the realm of possibility for your family.)
– Am I called to this? Has God equipped me with gifts and talents to fulfill this task?
– What is my motivation in setting this goal? Is someone else pressuring me to join them in their resolution? Who am I trying to impress?
– Is this from God, or simply my selfish desires speaking? Is it for my gain or His glory?
Then if we’re still convinced this is a goal we should set (we’ve marinated in it thoroughly before creating our action steps), by all means, let’s write it in a prominent place. For promises that are quickly spoken can also be quickly broken. Having a visible reminder can be a very good thing. (Especially for those of us visual folks who need things written down and staring us in the face or we’ll forget them.)
And if life happens and we get a little sidetracked in our resolutions, let’s give ourselves a little grace, knowing that sometimes God likes to reformat our dreams and goals.
Or maybe we need a season to rest and refrain from making any resolutions. Maybe our only To-Do should be to simply be faithful in exactly what is right in front of us. And that is perfectly okay.
Lastly, we don’t need to get all bossy with ourselves and feel pressured to have a complete game plan by January 2nd. Remember that mama guilt? Yup – we’re great at giving ourselves unhealthy ultimatums; whereas God likes to give us grace upon grace.
So Happy New Year, dear sweet friends! We are so thankful for you, our Masterpiece Mom community!!! Know that we love you, we’re cheering for you, and can’t wait to bring you more hope and encouragement in the coming year.
Anne-Renee Gumley
Latest posts by Anne-Renee Gumley (see all)
- When Your World Seems Topsy-Turvy - February 8, 2022
- The Path to Breaking Busy - January 25, 2022
- Counting It All Joy - January 11, 2022
Leave a Reply