When I chose thrive as my one little word for 2015, I said one thing, but meant another. In that post, I wrote: “For me, thriving means living at my very best. It’s about saying that I’m all in to this vocation I’ve chosen. It’s not about striving for perfection, but an invitation to embrace every part of my full and messy life.” But if we’re being honest, what I really meant was, “I want my life to reflect exactly how I picture it in my head.”
All year long, I’ve been reaching, working, striving toward that goal – and falling on my face time and time again. I just couldn’t understand why my life wasn’t becoming the well-oiled machine I was trying to force it to be!
My kids still bickered and tattled.
I still struggled to get dinner on the table most nights.
I haven’t lost the baby weight.
We still haven’t moved into that dream forever house.
We still haven’t moved into that dream forever house.
My kids still wake up way too early each morning.
Laundry is still regularly in piles on my bed.
I still often feel frazzled and overwhelmed and lacking in patience.
What in the world was I thinking with a word like thrive? We’re nowhere close!
But.
But then I looked again.
I scrolled through the silly, grainy pictures on my phone. I flipped through some of our school projects. I read back through my Around Here archives. I laughed to myself as I recalled funny moments and conversations. I got choked up watching my children comfort their baby brother.
No matter what the annoying perfectionist in my head says, we are thriving. I am thriving.
It turns out, choosing the word thrive in 2015 was God’s sweet gift to me. As He always does, He tenderly invited me to discover the freedom in letting go and maybe for the first time ever, I’m ready. I’m loosening my grip of control, my unrealistic expectations of how life should look, and nervously offering it all to Him.
This life of mine is messy and loud and oh so hard at times – but isn’t that the sign of a life well spent? This is what thriving looks like.
This life of mine is messy and loud and oh so hard at times – but isn’t that the sign of a life well spent? This is what thriving looks like.
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A few of my favorite posts from this year:
JANUARY: January is for Learning: A Review
FEBRUARY: A First Attempt at Arm Knitting
APRIL: Sophie’s Big Girl Room
AUGUST: 100 Little Things: Round Two
SEPTEMBER: Better than Before: A Review
NOVEMBER: On Dusting Off and Starting Again
DECEMBER: A Pom Pom Wreath
See you after Christmas, friends.