:: Beauty… My Word for 2014 ::
With the beginning of 2014, I’ve noticed that several of my favorite blogs have posted their “best of 2013,” a look back in photographs, or a roundup of their top-rated recipes. A few have even chosen a single word to represent the New Year… a simple reminder of their personal goals for 2014. I loved this idea, so I decided to do the same.
Looking back at 2013, I’d have to say that my word was TRUST. It was a big year for my family. Exactly a year ago marked our trip to Mammoth Lakes in California… which changed everything. It got us thinking… and talking… about our lives, our goals for our family, what we valued, and what our hopes were for our sweet four.
We joked that perhaps we would just move to Mammoth for a year and have Husby commute 6 hours each way to his firefighting job {where he would arrange his schedule to work for one week and then be off for two}. A trip to our local Southern California mountains, a few weeks later, proved that we were in fact searching for a different life for our family… one full of spontaneous adventure, the outdoors, and more together time.
After lots of prayer, late night talks, and several more mountain trips…. we found a beautiful home in our local mountains {where husby’s commute is just shy of two hours each way}. We said farewell to our comfortable life in South Orange County and left for the mountains. It was a hard transition {with an insanely busy fire schedule over the summer, Finn breaking his arm, and the beginning of our homeschool journey}.
Leaning on Jesus and TRUSTING in His plan for our life was what kept us going during those dark moments of doubt and frustration. Thankfully… His perfect timing, and path for our lives, can always be TRUSTED. 2013 ended up being a very exciting and fulfilling year for our family… once we TRUSTED Him and embraced our new life!
This year… my personal word is BEAUTY. I often find myself praying that my eyes would see the world as God sees it. Not through my tainted filter, but through His perfect, adoring eyes…
That in each day, I’d be able to see the BEAUTY in the simple things… whether it’s preparing a meal for my family, doing the dishes while staring at the great big pine trees, or juggling the needs of my four children while homeschooling…
That I wouldn’t get too tied up in the endless tasks of things to do… but instead fully absorb the BEAUTIFUL moments around me. Trying to be whole-heartedly present and purposefully aware…
That even through the trials {that will undoubtedly unfold}, I’d see the BEAUTY in the lesson that prevails…
and finally, that I would begin to not be so critical and hard on myself, but instead accept myself for who I am… fully embracing and celebrating the beauty that lies within me.
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Nicole mentioned in Weekend Lovelies, this past weekend, that her word for 2014 is HOPE…. We’d love for you to share with us your personal word, or goal for 2014, by leaving it in a comment below.
On a side note, we recently made our Instagram feeds public, so you can now follow Simply Happenstance … and our personal feeds, as well! You can find Nicole’s Instagram here: @nicolealindstrom and mine {Sara’s} here:@saraelizabeth_78. We hope you’ll follow our journey this year! We’d love to get to know each of you better!
HAPPY 2014! Have a lovely week, friends!
