Monday, January 1, 2018

WordS of the Year

Greetings once again, Chaotics!
Hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year!
Speaking of...have you decided on YOUR New Years Goals/ Resolutions/Word for the Year?

The past few days, I've had time to sit down and reflect on my word from last year. If you'd like a recap of 2016, as well as a more detailed explanation of what my word was, click here.
Last Year's Word was: Peace.
And, if I have to be honest....last year was anything but Peaceful, despite my effort and prayer!
(Keep an eye on my YT channel to find out why! I'll update this post when I upload it)

This year, as I thought and prayed...I realized I can't really give ONE word alone to my year. As much as I'd like to, each season...each month is different. I have different goals for each, and although the idea of just one word helps me to strive towards consistency throughout the whole year...call me crazy, but I need several words to further refine and redefine my life for an entire year!
(Clear as mud? Okay, great!)

With all that said...this season's word came to me as I answered a question on social media so others could get to know me better. As I looked back with longing of previous Winter's, I realized that we had NONE of that word this year. As I approached the end of Thanksgiving and the start of Winter holidays(my birthday, Winter Solstice, Christmas, New Years)....for the first time, I didn't feel the usual excitedness or joy that came with this time. I felt rushed, frazzled, and downright robotic(i.e.-going through the motions). On my birthday, I cried. Christmas came and went and the only thing I looked forward to was...it being over. New Year's Eve arrived and all I wanted to do was sleep right through it.
My home's atmosphere didn't feel the usual buzz of anticipation for this season, nor did it reflect it. The people within felt the overall uneasiness and responded accordingly.

It dawned on me that my heart, my home, my family...NONE of us were ready or prepared for the start of Winter, nor did we do the usual things that open our hearts to welcome the season. We were all waiting, restlessly, for the traditions that tell us this time is here. Because of everything surrounding our family, my brain was on autopilot and the traditions fell by the wayside. When I tried to start one, I was reminded we skipped a previous one, and we couldn't fully enjoy the one we were on because we did them out of order.

With the start of the New Year...I realized one word, one key element was lacking at the start of our Winter. That word is my word for the season: SAVOR.
We were restless because we weren't slowing down. Isn't that what Winter as a whole makes us do...slow down and savor the things within?
We can't inhale usual Winter treats...they're usually too hot for us to do so! If we didn't savor the cup of hot cocoa, or the cookie fresh from the oven, or the stew in the crock pot...we'd give ourselves third-degree burns!
If we don't slow down on Winter roads(we may not savor winter driving, and that's okay)...we'd cause an accident!
We can't rush through warming ourselves by the fireplace. We can't quickly set up the Christmas tree. Stories or memories of past Winters can't be read/said "Long story short edition". Traditions for this time of year are like fast food...there's no "drive-by edition".
Winter makes us SAVOR and slow down. Snow, cold, ice...they may be inconvenient to some, but to people like me, they are a reminder that this season was intended to be enjoyed at a less frantic pace. You simply cannot "GO GO GO" during Winter....our bodies, our minds, our souls(not to mention, most of our cars) are not designed to do so!

And as I thought about these things(and the seasonal theme of SAVOR)...another word came to mind for this month. As I reflected on my heart, I started to reflect on my home. Our home is a reflection, a mirror to which we can better see what's inside our souls.
What does my home reflect? Well, if I'm being honest(I am!), my home is reflecting CHAOS(and no, not the good kind that's the theme behind this blog). As a meme I saw once read:
"My Housekeeping Style is Best Described as "There Appears to Have Been A Struggle"".
Ain't that the truth! Last year, I said I wanted order and organization. However, adding two special needs children to our home this past year resulted in something FAR from order and organization! It resulted in an outward showing of the changes that happened within all of us, as we adjusted to these new additions...and not in a good way at ALL!
My home became a battleground of wits. It wasn't a home-it was a WARZONE! It was no longer a place of refuge from the world like it used to be. To see us nearing these four walls did NOT give me a sense of peace...it made me want to run the other direction!
What happened? Our house was no longer a HAVEN.
It lacked the love of homemaking I once had because I was up to my eyeballs in BUSY, NAGGING, and constant REMINDING. I felt like a firefighter in my own house...not trying to find ways to safely avoid fires, but just extinguishing one fire and waiting for the next. I woke up each morning in panic mode, and I went to bed each day feeling like I had done nothing more than keep the flames to a minimum.
My January word, as a result, is HAVEN. I am working towards many goals this month, but the central theme for it is returning my house back into a home; a haven, a place of refuge. I'm hoping and praying throughout this month that as I open myself to better organization and order within my home, the people within will do the same.
Granted...5 of these people ARE kids. But, that's why God gave us prayer, right?

SAVOR and HAVEN. Those are my words for the start of 2018.

What word(s) are Y'all working towards building up more of in your own lives? I'd love to hear about it!

Until Next Time,
  ~Mama Jenn