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As we get ready to close out this year and launch into the next, many of us look for a path toward better, stronger, and more…fill in the blank.
I am contemplating how to be content. Be okay with what is and whatever comes. I don’t say this lightly nor do I intend to downplay the very real devastation this last almost two years has brought in the way of loss, change, unrest, division, and heartache. I say it because contentment is elusive to me. I always seem to be looking for more and different.
As I reflect, I can point to my childhood of constant moves as a military brat and my requirement to adapt to change. From my parents being together, or apart, to the over thirty moves we made when I was a kid, I developed the resilience that change offers. I learned how to make the most of a situation or to make new friends. What I did not fully grasp was how to be content with it, whatever it was.
In the book of Job, God demonstrates the heart of contentment when Job cries out, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21 NKJV)
Job did not offer this lightly either is my guess as he lost family, property, and health. What he did recognize, and I offer is the recognition I yearn to emulate, is that God is sovereign and on the throne. God creates and God sustains. God holds together and God allows things to fall apart. His reasons and His ways are high above ours.
I endeavor this new year to not only accept His will for my life, whether perfect or allowed, but also to embrace it.
One of the ways I usher in a new year at work is to select an annual theme. The 2021 theme was Mindset Matters. Our team spent the year taking our thoughts captive and recognizing their power on our feelings, beliefs, and ultimately on our actions. In doing so, we were able to transform, overcome, and serve in ways that may have been hindered had we not held ourselves accountable to the thoughts we think and dwell on.
Setting new year’s resolutions is another way folks set goals. Or choosing a word or verse for the year.
Whatever it is for you, I encourage you to seek the One who can make all things new – our LORD and Savior, Jesus. Allow Him to be your anchor this year. Tether yourself to His love, grace, and truth. You will find the hope you long for…no matter the journey.
For a glimpse into my story of hope and perseverance, check out my book,LIVE IT OUT – Hope, A Devotional Journal.
Connect with me at CodieWinslow.com or on social media on Facebook (Codie Winslow) and @codiewinslow on Instagram.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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