The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound it makes; but you don’t know where it’s coming from or where it’s going to. That’s what it’s like with someone who is born from the spirit. ~JOHN 3:8
“People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” -Samuel Johnson
I have received a word from the Lord.
No, I am not an aspiring cult leader.
It’s just that the Wind spoke a personal word, for me, as happens from time to time. And I think it’s important and encouraging to share these words with others, when appropriate.
This message concerns the upcoming year for me: It is to be “A Year of Review”.
A year of taking inventory.
It is to be a time of purgation, fasting, and decluttering of mind, body, and home. And it shall begin with a January fast from reading any books. I very much enjoy reading, but there comes an appropriate season to cease from accumulating and consuming so that you can simply metabolize and digest. This of course applies to much more than the reading of books.
I’m very excited for this 2024 journey of reviewing with God the countless blessings He has bestowed, and teachings He has given. As we touched on this in the last Ripple, there is a joy and efficacy in taking the time to read over what you have journaled, soaking in the growth Jesus has fostered in you, thanking Him for what He has brought you through. To simply go back over highlights and notes in books I’ve read, instead of jumping immediately to the next book, is such a wonderful practice of reminding à la Samuel Johnson’s quote above. To actually look through the 13,000 photos on my phone, reliving joyous memories, deleting those surplus shots to clear space… All of this cultivates a wide smile and deep gratitude.
I look forward to the removal of encumbrances and the making of room for more space to simply be with God in contemplation. And by contemplation I mean it as the mystics refer to it: sitting in silence waiting for a word from God which you cannot come up with on your own. In my experience there is no greater practice or use of your time than this.
I know this has been more of a personal sharing, but I’d like to encourage you, if you don’t already, to choose a word for the year, or a theme, some anchoring thought or centering truth you’d like to keep returning to. I have found this helpful and grounding.
Tho we may desire to improve ourselves in several areas, it is realistic to implement just one shift per year. In reality, if you do indeed initiate just one or maybe even two reforms over the course of a year, you are advancing at an impressive and sustaining rate!
There is a nagging pressure to do everything, or at bare minimum a lot of things in order to keep up or please everybody. This must be resisted so that you can make tangible and lasting renovations which will liberate you in some efficacious manner, as well as bless those close to you to a greater degree.
As I said, my specific calling for 2024 is to review with God the plethora of goodnesses in my life, and take moments to enjoy them anew, to appreciate what I already have by physically attending to it. This will naturally decrease time and energy for accumulating and consuming more more more. I anticipate sharing from this invigoration with those around me what I am enjoying. You can expect some rich Ripples of review this coming year, Lord willing 🙂
Oh the easy yoke and light burden of focusing on doing just a few things mindfully well!
What might be your word, theme, focus for the upcoming year?
What is one shift that would greatly free you? And likely bless the world around you?