2010
That really seems surreal.
I look forward to this year with renewed hope for a bright future. No, seriously, I do! 2009 was full of many challenges, tests, sorrows and learning. But, through all of those trials I really did come out of it a better, stronger and even more humble person.
I learned that no matter how difficult life can be, someone is facing bigger challenges. No matter how much despair I sometimes felt, I found a way to grab life by the horns and refuse to give up. I figured out that success for me last year wasn’t going to be expressed in pounds lost, or miles run (or walked, as it were) or dollars in my account, but rather success has been defined by how to get through each challenge with grace, humility and a greater sense of who I am and who I really aspire to be. It has been really freeing, as 2009 drew to a close, to more fully understand my role as a wife, mother, friend, and child of God. And, even more freeing to realize just how wonderful the journey is and how perfect really doesn’t exist.
So, in this new year, I am looking forward to continuing those lessons and making life richer and fuller. I’ve realized how inactivity really is damaging not only to my body, but my soul too. I’ll be hitting the gym or working in my house much more this year. I’ve realized how lack of organization and neatness brings on stress in quite a few areas of my life. I’m going to adapt and plan for getting more things done and keeping the house neater. I’ve realized how much I miss a structured quiet time. I know I’m not likely to do it every day, but I am going to map out a time at least 3 days a week. And, I’ve also learned just how much debt steals away from our confidence as a couple and how the stuff that our debt acquired provides us with very little joy in comparison to the stress it brings. So, our goal is to reduce our total debt by 1/3.
I am really and truly hopeful for all that 2010 is going to bring.
beth, wish you the very best will all your hopes and plans for this year! i look forward to growing, too, in many of those ways, too.=)
too…too. oops.=)