Sometimes even though my word for 2017 has been Intentional, it seems like intentionality finds me in curious ways. Going into November I didn't really think about celebrating Christmas intentionally. I was just trying to survive.
Then it happened...
I felt God telling me I had to stop and slow down.
I was doing lots of good things, but they were not necessarily the best things.
It can be funny how we get caught up doing and being part of something and we miss the fact that we are losing who God created us to be in the middle of all the activity.
So I listened
(after several weeks of sickness that forced rest on me)
And I stopped...
And then I started to hear again...
It is amazing how quickly we can lose the still small voice that God uses to speak His truth into our lives.
A podcast I listened to recently suggested that the reason God speaks so softly and quietly is so we have to lean in close to him to hear...
I loved the visual this creates....
It makes me think of my own daughters...
One of my favorite things to do in the middle of a tickle fight is to pull them close and say...
"I love you so much!"
And that is how my Christmas season has become Intentional...
In a moment of wrestling and struggling with all the unknowns that loom in my near future God pulled me close and whispered...
"I love you so much!
I have plans for you that you can't even begin to imagine
and I am working it all out in my time.
I'm working on your future so you can just be and enjoy the present."
So as November faded into the past and December became my present, I began looking for ways to intentionally enjoy a time of year that can be so chaotic and crazy.
So far we have managed three different visits with Santa for Myka, my oldest daughter.
We have shared the excitement of our annual Victorian Christmas celebration with our community.
We have painted ornaments, made cookies, just driven around looking at Christmas lights.
My husband and I took the time to cram ourselves into a little train because a three year old asked,
"Can you ride with me?"
We are just twelve days into December, but I have unintentionally met goals early by suddenly having the margin to invest energy I did not have before I listened and stopped.
I have been learning in this Year of Intentional that intentionality is not something that comes easy.
It can look great on a motivational poster.
It sounds really inspiring.
The reality...
It is really hard...
For me this year Intentional has met setting boundaries that protect my physical and emotional health and holding those boundaries even when it becomes uncomfortable.
Intentional has been saying no when the desire to please screams that I should say yes.
But as we come to the end of the year I feel like I am recognizing exactly how much this one word has changed my life.
The word Intentional has taught me better self care and in teaching me that it has made me a better wife, mother and friend.
Being Intentional has helped me create margin so that I can slow down and listen just a little more closely for that holy whisper that says...
"I love you so much!"
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