Pause… My word for the Year 2022!
Pause.
My word for 2022.
Beep, beep, beep…the sound of my alarm goes off at 5:30 AM. I angrily tap the snooze on my phone or in an angry voice tell Alexa to snooze ONE MORE TIME. I slowly roll out of bed, make coffee half asleep, brush my teeth (although, I have forgotten to brush my teeth until later in the day #workfromhomelife), AND there is a 50% chance I MIGHT change into something besides pajamas. Because my lovely homemade office is RIGHT on the other side of my bedroom wall and takes about 5 steps to walk into my office (also my living room, kitchen, entertainment area, well you get the point) I have gotten into a REAL bad habit of not getting ready for the day, not pausing before life happens and spending time with the Lord, and feeling like my life is a complete chaotic mess AT ALL TIMES.
September 2021, I moved to Colorado from the Dallas, Texas area because some special hunk of a man stole my heart. Yes, I moved for a MAN. I didn’t think I would do that because hello…That is NOT what any independent Iowan living in the big state of Texas does…am I right, or am I right? 😉 The Lord had such a sweet plan and looking back on it all now, it is fabulous.
I mean, how often do you meet another Iowan who is Norwegian (I am part Norwegian as well), loves the Lord, kind, and goes on adventures with me while in Colorado adventuring for a month?? AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. Well, I hope that is our ending, BUT our long-distance dating wasn’t all dreamy and fairytale like it sounded at some points. All relationships have their ups and downs! But let’s just say I am super thankful for my fiancé, Garett’s, amazing skill at pursuing me WELL! Kudos to him.
Anyways, so why am I telling you I moved to Colorado in September, got engaged two weeks later, trying to plan a wedding (Garett has done a LOT), trying to travel with my gal pals, trying to meet new people & get involved in our new church (news flash, it is hard to meet new people & get involved in community when you travel and aren’t in your new city, shocker I know), trying to grow my muscles for my wedding dress, working more hours because work got weirdly busy (but in a good way), and all I feel like doing is sitting down, cuddling up with my fiancé, reading a good book, and having a good chat? BECAUSE life doesn’t just get less busy, it will only get busier unless I am intentional and PAUSE.
Because how often do we just need to pause. Be still. Breathe. Pray.
Psalm 37:7a “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act…”
Have you ever thought about how often Jesus paused? Me either, but he paused, retreated, and was alone with the Lord often. He paused, prayed, and was still.
Luke 6:12, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
My word for the year is PAUSE. My life isn’t going to get less busy unless I make it less busy and am intentional with my time. I don’t know the future, but I am getting married in 2022 and WHO knows what else is happening after that.
My goal is to get into a morning routine that has a morning pause with the Lord, I don’t roll out of bed feeling chaotic and let my life feel out of control. Because I am the one in control of my time and how often I pause.
One small change at a time can add up to big changes. Maybe that is being more intentional, going to bed earlier so I can get up a little earlier. That might be saying no to some things to say yes to the best things.
I won’t be perfect, I will probably struggle learning to be better at pausing. But I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for 2022 with extra adventure pauses! Cheers to adventure pauses with the Lord!
What is your word for 2022?