It’s the beginning of a new year. It’s a new start. It’s 2017.
This past year surged by me. The
memories seem to be stuck in Google Photos, unable to be recaptured in my mind
and in my heart. My children will often tell
of events that happened, things I said or did, and I don’t remember them. These occurrences stood out in their
mind. They took seed and planted themselves
in their hearts and made them laugh, made them cry, or made them feel loved. It’s the latter that I want. It’s the latter that we need. It’s the latter that we all long for.
So what is in store for 2017? In a world that toils here and
there, from one activity to the next, planning every minute of every day, I plan
to be more mindful. While the secular
world tries to win over my mind and my heart with empty promises of happiness
and gallant efforts of show, I will tend to what is right outside my window: my
husband, my children, my home. That is
what is right outside the window of my heart.
That is what is right outside when I look through that window. They will come first.
The world isn’t going to crumble down around me if I don’t
go save it because only God saves. I am
merely a lowly instrument that He can use to work through. All glory and honor is His. St. Therese, St. Mother Theresa, and of
course our most Blessed Mother, Mary, all lived the lives that God asked. It was the small ways they reached out to
those around them, in complete humility and love that attracted others to
them. After all, it is in losing
ourselves that we find Jesus.
Ironically, when I sat down to write this entry, I didn’t
realize that this would be my most important goal of 2017. There will be many branches that stretch me,
grab my attention, and distract me from what is most important because there
are many causes that I’m passionate about.
There is so much hurt, grief, and putrid sin that is choking the life
and light out of the longing for love in this world. When I meet my God one day, I want to have
served Him well, with what He asked of me, what He put before me, right outside
my window. It’s 2017.
