About eight years ago I started a tradition.
I take a day, early in the new year, or just before the clock turns past 12 and write the vision.
Then the Lord answered me and said,
“Write the vision
And engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets
So that the one who reads it will run.
“For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time
It hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail.
Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it,
Because it will certainly come; it will not delay. Hab 2:2-3
Many years ago I read a story about a class who did an experiment. They were asked to come up with goals. Some wrote goals, some wrote specific goals, other just came up with them. 10 years post-graduation, of those who wrote them down and made them specific, they were wealthier and more successful than 95% of the class. That inspired me. Set your vision and make it plain.
My yearly goals aren’t simply “I will make x amount of money by x date”. I truly take this time as a period of reflection. Phone goes on flight mode, ear-cancelling headphones go on, coffee is in it’s place.
First, give thanks.
‘In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God…for you.’ I Thess 5:18
Before we can reflect we should give thanks that you’re still here. We aren’t promised more than today and we survived another year.
Then, I get into it…
This is a time to reflect on the year. A time to celebrate what I achieved. A time to think back on where I could have improved. It is a time to see how I was challenged and what I learned. It is a time to think about who I want to spend more time with in the coming year and who may need to step out of my life in the forthcoming season. It is a time to think, pray and ponder over the word or words that will govern my life in the next year. It is a time to set specific goals financially, spiritually and for my health. It is a time to ask God to breathe into my plans, to take away that which will not benefit me in the next season. It is a time to ask Him for whose life I need to speak into. It is a time to be silent.
I then write it all down. I don’t give myself a limit. I don’t stress. I simply write.
Then, after it’s all unconsciously and metaphorically, on the table…I begin to define. Some things stay in my notebook, others become real in terms of setting dates and making plans to fulfil goals.
It’s a process, but it is one that I not only look forward to, but also find to be some of the best therapy of the year.
You see, it’s easy to look back on a year and forget. We see that which has impacted us the hardest or most powerfully. We see our flaws, instead of our victories.
This small chunk of my year has become sacred and I hope that it will become a part of your year too.
