Struggling In 2020? Read This

By: Char Patterson

Is it too late to press reset on 2020? I basically got whiplash from how quickly January came and went, and February is following suit. I had all of my resolutions and goals listed out and organized accordingly, sitting on ready and just like everyone else, was waiting for the new decade to make its highly-anticipated arrival.

 But when the clock struck 12, I didn’t feel that “shift” *insert ‘whoa dance’ here* (do people still do that?). I don’t know if it’s because this was the first year that I can remember where I wasn’t at church on New Year’s Eve. Or maybe it was because the end of 2019 took so much of a toll, I couldn’t even think about what I would go through this year. Either way, it took me, and is still taking me a minute to adjust to a new beginning and the “New Year, New Me” mindset that comes along with it.

It’s really weird because I normally thrive this time of year, but 2020 hit different… at first. That’s because I was ready for my new me to come with my Christmas gifts, perfectly delivered in my mailbox. Have you ever been so ready to make a change that you just skip to the end, and what you see as the new you, without going through the process?

As I looked through my list of goals to get my body right just in time for the summer, stack my savings account and read my bible more, God really started dealing with me (don’t you love when He does that?) about not just my motives but staying consistent and making a lifestyle change in pretty much every area of my being. While getting healthy, being disciplined with my finances and spiritual growth are pretty amazing goals on paper, they were so self-serving in my head.

God reminded me that He wants all of those things for me, but unless I have the right motives, I won’t have His grace to be consistent in not just reaching those goals but maintaining them. It might take me until the end of 2020 to check off these goals, but that’s better than just checking off that I read my bible without actually getting anything out of it.

And as for the things I worried about when it comes to all things 2020, part of spiritual growth is to stop doing, start trusting, and not letting that occupy my space. Each day has enough to think about, let alone skipping ahead an entire year.

Don’t get me wrong, goal-setting is the way of the land, but I’ve learned the hard way that quality is better than quantity. That’s why I constantly felt like I didn’t have enough time in the day, why I found myself working unhealthy and unbalanced hours on end without looking up and appreciating the small things God was doing in, through and for me on a daily.

Sometimes it’s hard to think that He wants much better for us than we want for ourselves. We can be too smart for our own good and subconsciously think that we have it handled and don’t need His help. The outcome of my 2020 so far has determined that was a lie.

If you feel like you’re already wearing yourself out to accomplish your goals, or didn’t even have time to create any, it’s okay! It might be too late for a reset, but it’s not too late to think about what you want for your life this week, this month, this year, and this decade (whew, chile!). Write it down, give it to God and let Him to make it even more amazing. There’s a reason we have those desires and goals, we just need His grace to complete it.

Connect w/ Char on social media @charpatterson