Happy New Year!! I cannot believe that it is already 2015.
Does anyone else feel like last year just FLEW by?? I can definitely say
that it was by far the most eventful year I have had in a long time.
Spending New Years in Baja with some of the most amazing people I have
ever met. Finishing nursing school and conquering the hardest mountain I
have ever faced. Passing my NCLEX exam and achieving a feat that, for a
while, I was not sure was possible. Realizing that it's more about
finishing strong rather than finishing perfect. Traveling to Storybrooke
and defeating the Snow Queen. (That was my 8:30am attempt at humor. I
just finally caught up on Once Upon A Time and can't figure out why I
waited this long to discover it. Or use Netflix for that matter.)
Anyway, as I was looking back on everything that had happened in 2014,
it was as if all I could think was, "Okay, now what?" I had accomplished
my two biggest goals of the year (three if you count having a job after
graduation, which I cannot thank God enough for!!) and now I felt as if
I was sitting with my scrubs and stethoscope, waiting for the next big
thing to come along. I felt stuck. I've only been out of school for
about 8 months, an actual employed RN for about 6, and I was already
feeling as if this was all I was ever going to do. 12 hour shifts
dispersed throughout the week with feeble attempts to catch up on sleep
on the in-between days. They say you can't take your work home with you,
but when people's lives are in your inexperienced hands, sometimes all
you do is go back and mentally inspect your actions with a fine-toothed
comb, dissecting if anything you did could have ended badly. Now don't
get me wrong, I love what I do. I love seeing people who came in with
almost next to no hope walk out with a smile on their face, hugging you
before they leave, thanking you for everything you did. But sometimes it
mentally, physically, and emotionally drains every ounce of strength
that you have. I was feeling as if I was just Jessica, RN. That's it. I am one of the biggest supporters of the phrase "You are
not your job." Yes, I'm a nurse, but that's not all I am. Yes, you may
be a teacher, but that's not all you are. You may be a student, but
that's not all you are. You may be a mother, but that's not all you are.
God didn't make us to be one-dimensional. One of the most beautiful
aspects that God entwined into each and every one of our sets of DNA is
that we can be this AND this. I can be a nurse and a missionary and an
artist and a baker and....and....and. Now I'm not saying that one person
should try to be everything and everyone (Trust me, you'll just end up
disappointing yourself and burning out in the process), but I am not
defined by my nametag, and neither are you. God didn't write my story to
be finished at 23. I want to get married and have a family and travel
the world and do so many things that, at the moment, don't seem even
remotely possible, but they are. They so are.
I decided
that I wanted to have a word this year, a word that I could look at
whenever I feel disappointed or upset, and it would remind me of the
promises that God has given me to be fulfilled. A word that I would love to share with you as a source of uplifting encouragement.
JOY. So simple, but for
me, so powerful and perfectly sums up what I'm seeking for this year.
And a reminder that I don't need to be constantly seeking the "next
step." I just need to seek after the Lord and He will bring me to those
next steps, or even bring them to me. You won't always be happy. You
won't always even be content. But you can always have joy, because joy
comes from the deepest parts of your soul. Joy overcomes the darkest of
circumstances and connects us to God's heart in ways that no one can
explain. When you have joy, nothing is unattainable. Nothing is
impossible. And most importantly, with joy, we are more than our day
jobs. We are children of God, and there is nothing more beautiful :)
I've never really liked the idea of New Years Resolutions, because they
just always seemed so......limited. And conventional. And if there is
one thing that I've never been, it's conventional. You don't need a new year to begin to make a change. But, in the spirit of a
new year and new beginnings and new joy, I present for your viewing
pleasure:
New Year's REV-olutions
- Build my relationship with my heavenly Father and embrace the ah-mazing plans He has for me
- Finish at least half of the ever-increasing stack of books I've bought in the past two years
- Eat healthier (please no one freak out. I'm not trying to lose weight. I just need to stop eating so much junk food and soda ;) )
- Learn how to play tennis and actually play on a regular basis
- Finish building my bedroom at home (I would love for this one to be finished by the end of January!)
- Open up my own Etsy shop and paint on a more regular basis
- Spend more time with my family
- Pay off my student loans (I dream big, haha)
- Utilize my Erin Condren Life Planner (that my BFF decidedly introduced me to) to its fullest capacities, AKA be more organized
- Travel more (I'd be alright with on this continent, but if anyone wanted to pay for a trip to Paris or Ireland for me, I definitely wouldn't object!)
- Get started with the Essential Oils group I've recently found (I'm all about finding natural ways to stay healthy!!)
- Be more of an encouragement to those around me and allow the joy that God has given me to help lift up others
These are just some of the main ones that I'm really working hard to accomplish this year. I would love to hear what some of your rev-oltutions are, and be source of encouragement for any goals you are trying to accomplish! Remember, you don't need a new year to make a new start. You just need courage, determination, and most importantly, joy.
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