Holiday Rentals & Resolutions
Midnight Musings about the New Year
A new year is just around the corner. Brand new. Untouched. Clean. Fresh. Waiting for us, just a few days away, like a blank sheet of paper begging to be filled with hope and possibility. We anticipate what the New Year will bring with optimism and wonder. We set goals and resolutions and plan celebrations to welcome this fresh start.
And so we should! I am a big fan of doing all of these things and love the space that this last week in December gives us to ponder and reflect on the year that is drawing to a close. I have found, however, that often it only takes until February for the glow of the New Year to wear off. If I am honest, sometimes it only takes until the second week of January for the feeling of a fresh start to be a distant memory! Why is that?
For the past few days our family has taken a little break in a beautiful holiday spot about an hour from where we live. Let me tell you, after the chaos of hosting all of the family at our house on Christmas Day (which was amazing, full of fun and laughter, but still crazy!), it felt so good to pack little more than towels and swimmers and head up the coast on Boxing Day.
I felt myself instantly relax as the key to our 2 bedroom apartment clicked open and we stepped inside. There is nothing quite like walking into a beautiful, spotlessly clean unit with everything in its proper place. Cushions arranged perfectly on the couch, towels rolled, crisp sheets, soap in little wrappers. Untouched. Clean. Fresh. A little bit like the new year.
The problem with the spotless unit, however, is that we arrive.
It seems that within seconds we create mess and clutter where there was previously perfect order. The kids kick their shoes off and flop onto the couch, one knocks the destination magazines off the coffee table to make space for the collection of books he has bought up from the car while the other throws all the ‘uncomfortable’ cushions into a pile on the floor. Uncluttered benches soon hold bags and phone chargers, and tidy rooms soon have untidy open suitcases spread across their floors.
I think that in a similar way, the problem with the clean, fresh New Year is that I arrive into it. I arrive with my baggage, I arrive with my mess, and it doesn’t take long for it to stop looking like the perfect clean start I was hoping for.
Sometimes I arrive into the New Year tired, sometimes I arrive stressed. Often I arrive still processing events of the previous year. Sometimes I arrive with strained relationships or significant pressure in other areas of life. Sometimes I arrive unwell. Sometimes I arrive unprepared. You see, the problem isn’t really with the New Year, the problem is with me. A date clicking over on the calendar doesn’t change or shift issues in my heart that need to worked out or habits in my life that need to change. And I feel like I need to stop expecting subconsciously that it does in some way.
So, I am trying to be more mindful of this as I set my resolutions for 2020. I am making an effort to push past the superficial, surface level goals that usually make up the bulk of my list, and trying to be intentional about identifying and clarifying areas at a heart level that I would like to see growth or healing in over the next 12 months.
Is the holiday ruined because we only take five minutes to mess up the apartment? Of course not! Even amidst the clutter and the mess, this place has been the backdrop for days of laughter, fun and family memories.
Is the hope of the New Year lost because I will arrive there on January 1 with most of my mess and baggage? Of course not! Even amongst the challenges and through the often uncomfortable process of growth, I know already that 2020 will become the backdrop for some of the best experiences, achievements, adventures and memories so far.
So here is to setting realistic expectations & making good resolutions! And Happy New Year!
Jess x
P.S. The Identity Project, a 40 day devotional journal to help you build a strong identity and discover purpose is available for purchase in the store today with free shipping. A great way to start the New Year!
