Some years, I choose a word to focus my personal growth and study. At the transition into 2020, we decided to go through the whole process as a family. We involved everyone in choosing vision board pictures, and we settled on our word together.
As you can see, we kept it simple. Including the kids in the process was quite fulfilling, though, because we essentially were able to use the time to talk through the things we miss about having animals, a garden, and basically our chosen lifestyle. We were able to prioritize what things each of us want most, and our decisions when we find our place will be very affected by the conversations we had.
We have our board, complete with our word and a scripture pasted above our table in the apartment. Since being home so much for the past several weeks, I find it convicting my spirit often. We chose the word fearless, and in my mind I believed that it was to symbolize being fearless in pursuit of the lifestyle we want or fearless in our willingness to step out of our comfort zones into our true life’s mission. Now I find it even more appropriate, because I see in some ways a general public that is being fed fear by trowel and eating every bite. Whether it be fear of sickness or fear of financial woes or fear of over-reaching governmental control, I see it sneaking in to grip hearts.
I don’t know about you, but that is not okay with me! I have lived long enough to know that panic and fear will do nothing but make a situation worse. While I do feel like it is wise to be appropriately concerned and to prepare accordingly, obsessing over every snippet of news released does no good for our mental well-being.
Romans 12:2 (NIV) states, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In the middle of this pandemic, I’ve applied this to my own life by not feeding into the fear perpetrated by an over-active media. I want to be informed of facts, but I do not need 24/7 coverage and conjecture as to what may happen far into the future when that really must remain to be seen by all of us. I do not allow myself to even check the news every day. I do begin each day with scripture and prayer. We fill the day with work, my kids’ school, and whatever else we come up with each day. Family bonfires or walks through the neighborhood often fill our evenings.
Many of the things we included on our little board included travel. I do sincerely hope that some of them will be achievable, but even if the entire chart is derailed, I am confident we have the right word to live by this year! In the face of fear, we choose to say no. We will live our lives, be diligent and cautious, observe to the best of our abilities the requests made, and confidently trust the rest to work out alright.
Bethany
Journey Into Freedom 