I came across blogger Alece Ronzino suggesting on Grit and Glory blog that some of us might be better served scrapping making resolutions this year. In her eyes it was better to commit to focusing on a single word for the upcoming year.
“I’ve never been a New Year’s resolutions girl. I just can’t bring myself to do it. I think I tried once. And a few months later when I couldn’t even remember what my resolutions were — or where my list was — I felt like a miserable failure. And I’ve never resolutioned again. But last year I decided to choose one word to focus on. My own personal non-resolution resolution.” –Alece
So in the spirit of Alece’s post I spent some time thinking about what my one word for 2011 might be. I first had to look back on 2010 because 2010 stretched me in so many ways, both good and not so good. But in the midst of that reflection even my “not so good” moments were filled with “God Winks” signs I might have missed if I didn’t stop to PAUSE!
My one word for 2011 : PAUSE
Definitions of pause on the Web:
- hesitate: interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
- a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
In my world of managing a dealership, specifically dealing with customers and staff alike, you’re taught to think on your feet and react to whatever situation presents itself. It’s the kind of environment where pauses take place after the fact, usually in the form of a critique of how a situation or guest experience was handled.
But 2010 was different because cancer was introduced to that world. Subsequently that led to multiple surgeries followed by two separate rounds of radiation, and an impromptu trip to the Seattle Cancer Clinic to see a merkel cell cancer specialist, co-pays, deductibles, and a lot of waiting and wondering how this fit into my plan for my life.
In the midst of all that I learned quickly my fast and furious approach to life just didn’t work, and as those two worlds collided I was forced to pause…..and pause often. And it was in the midst of those pauses I had the opportunity to reflect on what was truly important and to take inventory of what and who mattered most. Taking time to pause afforded me the opportunity to share my experiences (frustrations and victories alike) in a series of posts called lessons learned. But probably the most important lesson, and the one I needed to be taught, was that control wasn’t always a good thing and surrender wasn’t a sign of weakness.
Ultimately my faith become a verb and was no longer a noun when I chose to trust God period. And in doing so He revealed there was a plan, this is still a plan, and there will always be a plan, and it is not mine plan but His plan for my life.
Accepting this has allowed me to become more intentional in my relationships, to appreciate the little things, not sweat the big things (as much), to give freely of my time and talents, and to love selflessly.
So what will 2011 look like if I CHOOSE to pause, not because I have to, but because I WANT TO?
My prayer is that pausing becomes as part of your everyday life, not just when life changing events occur, and in doing so you too will come to see how God is working in your life and the lives of those you love.
~Tom
trusting God period
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.