This Is My Plan for 2023

I leaned back in my chair and stared into the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree letting it sink in.  The realization I had doing my 2022 reflection was both validating and humbling.  I realized that God’s plan for me this year had been a heck of a lot different than mine.  

My plan was comfort, health, support, ease.

God’s plan was growth.  God’s plan was giving me much more than I felt comfortable carrying so I could learn how strong I truly am.  It was putting chronic illness in my son so we could start our journey to true health.  It was putting space between me and people I leaned on so I could find the support I so desperately sought within myself.  It was putting obstacles in my path so I could learn to trust my ability to navigate them. 

Where my plan kept me in the same place, God’s plan moved me in the direction of the person he wants me to be.  

Seeing the difference in the two I felt validated because it explained why the year had been challenging.   But I also felt humbled realizing how resistant I’d been to the hard things God was placing in front of me.

This year I want to receive life with open arms instead of holding my fists up in a fighter’s stance deflecting the things that don’t feel comfortable or certain.  I want to hold on more loosely to my own plans and open my heart to God’s plan for me. I want to be less resistant to the hard things and trust that they are happening for me and the person I’m becoming. 

I’m looking to 2023 and instead of searching for smoother seas, I’m trusting that the breeze is taking me exactly where I’m supposed to go.  I’m certain that the storms I’ve navigated so far have prepared me to face the ones awaiting me and any more ahead are equipping me for what lies further still.