Making Plans and Letting Go
I love the beginning of a new year. I love the idea of a fresh start and a blank calendar. While I am not a resolutions girl, I am a goals girl. I enjoy setting and tracking my goals over the year. One of my favorite tools is the Powersheets goal planner.
With Powersheets, I take time to review the past year, I identify what areas of my life are working well, and I can pinpoint areas I need to continue to focus on. I am then able to see more clearly what goals I want to set for the new year.
Last year, while I was working through my Powersheets, I identified something that was taking up a significant amount of time in my life; however, it didn’t serve a purpose for any of my goals. Over the summer, I had picked up some contract writing work. Summers are generally slower for my family since we don’t do a full homeschool course load, and I found I had the spare time to add the contract work to my weekly schedule. However, then September came, and soon I found myself barely meeting my deadlines and feeling frustrated with the work.
It took me until December, when I spent time reviewing the year, to see that the contract work wasn’t working for my life. While yes, I did like earning extra cash, it wasn’t a need, and it didn’t align with any of my goals. And while writing and growing my craft is one of my goals, the work I was doing didn’t significantly help the type of writing I was working on and instead took up what little time I had for my own writing.
The decision to resign from the work I was doing was not easy; however, after evaluating my goals, I knew it was the right decision.
Have you taken the time to make goals for this coming year? Are there physical goals you would like to achieve? Savings goals you want to meet? Reading goals you want to smash? (Shout out to all you lovelies who read 100 + books a year—you are my heroes!) Setting goals gives you a vision of where you want to go.
Directions and Detours
When we know where we are going, we have a sense of direction. We can map out the best way to get from (point) A to (point) B. If we decided to go on a road trip and never once looked at a map or pulled up directions on our phone, we would get lost. It is always a good idea to have directions and to make a plan before starting out on any adventure.
The Bible even speaks of wisdom in making a plan. In Luke 14, we read about someone wanting to build a tower and how, first, they would need to sit down and see if they had enough materials to build it. If they started and were not able to finish, they would be ridiculed. Immediately following, Luke offers the same advice about a king going into battle. Before the king goes into battle, he must sit down and evaluate if he will be able to take on the one coming against him.
When we have taken the time to set a course of action and have our directions written out, we will more successfully reach our destination. However, just as with road trips, even the best-laid plans will involve a detour. Detours will range from minor to severe; however, do not let a detour deter you from reaching your goal. A pulled muscle might need to be rested for a month, but that doesn’t mean it will never work again. Sometimes, a detour is a gift. While we may not be able to see it at the moment, God is always working in the details.
When I am driving to a destination, and my GPS says there is a delay up ahead and it has found a shorter route, I always accept the alternate route. I may not be getting to my destination by my original directions, but I have course-corrected and found another way to get there. The same is true for our goals. While making a plan is wise, it’s even wiser to make a plan B.
Letting Go
I know we are in the year 2020, and autonomous vehicles will be here before we know it, but I still struggle with the concept. The idea of letting go and releasing control of a car to the car itself is unfathomable to me. Letting go is hard. I want control.
We need to let go of the control we seek in obtaining our goals. Proverbs has a few instructions for us in this:
- “In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (Proverbs 16: 9 NIV)
- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)
Ultimately, we need to submit ourselves to the Lord and allow him to have the final say in our goals. We need to trust that his ways are so much better than ours. I’m not saying that we ought to give up on our dreams and goals (unless we hear from God that we need to do so). I am saying that we need to trust his sovereignty over our goals. My husband and I have had a dream/goal of building our own home for many, many years. We believe that God has given us this desire and that it is his will for us to have it; however, we have had to surrender our plans and our timing to him over and over. We are learning what it is to wait well and to submit to the Lord.
I pray that as you embark on this new year, you would spend time in prayer over your plans. Dream big dreams; set audacious goals; prepare for detours; let go and live your fullest year yet.
is a homeschooling mom of four. She is a Jersey girl at heart but now lives in Michigan with her husband Jeff and their kids. Heather enjoys reading, coffee-ing, worshipping and writing. She is passionate about her family and living the full life. You can find her at heathergerwing.com.
Photograph © Jamie Street, used with permission
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