Have A Little Faith in We

Happy New Year! It is official – we have closed the book on 2016 and are just starting to write the story of 2017. Now is the time to start hoping, dreaming, and figuring out what you want this year to be… 

As ya’ll know, I LOVE a fresh start. A crisp new calendar, a beautiful blank notebook, a piping hot cup of just poured coffee – the newness gets me every time…. all representations of potential! So a whole new year is one of my favorite things about the holiday season. 

This year has been extremely different for us – all the way around. Most recently the transplant and following weeks have resulted in us living an abnormal life – even our hours are odd: starting the day around 10AM and ending sometime around 3AM. During this life there have been struggles, but oddly enough they have resulted in good- when it certainly didn’t feel that way in the moment. It has me thinking very differently about the new year: first- how we choose to live the life we are given and second- the power of possibility. 

We cannot control what will happen in life, but we can control our response. For me that control was only found in giving up control. Turning to my faith has been my life line and produced a unique ability to slow down my mind racing with worry… my heart flooding with emotion… and my tongue quick to produce an answer. Instead I have found a little pocket of neutral that I can turn to for all my emotions- happy, sad, scared, anger- and have the ability to say “I am weak and don’t know the proper reaction, so I will leave it to You.” This seemed to quiet my wondering/ruminating and in return open myself to seeing the little ways to choose positive over negative, while awaiting for life to unfold. I don’t know the perfect response for all scenarios and I will never be able to predict the future, but I will reap the benefit of peace through prayer and the power in constantly choosing to think, speak and react positively. 

Secondly the power of possibility. None of this Transplant experience has gone as we planned- and yet it has been really positive. Even as we face the first round of not ideal medical circumstances – we still feel lucky by how we have been blessed so far. But if we really are honest with ourselves, if given the choice, we may not have chosen the pathways we traveled – since it was not OUR way. But think what we would have missed! This has me so excited by the power of possibility, it is exactly how I want to look at 2017! Not what I need to fix… not what I am going to change… not what I have done badly in the past – more imagine what the future holds! Take advantage of the possibility…. 

Wishing you all a year full of positive possibility! Happy 2017!