Is it really “your year”?

Sometimes you have a great year and other times it may seem like you have pissed the heavens off and a tone of challenges is only headed in your direction . Who gets to have a great year? Is it something God decrees and it just happens? Is it something you and I do or believe in in order to have a great and successful year? How do you know if “this is your year”?

I have watched people proclaim “this is my year” at the dawn of a new year. Some people believe it because it’s what the Pastor said at church, others believe it because they are optimistic and live their lives by faith while some people believe it’s a useless trend that like most trends will die down soon.

I am sure you have seen this online ,heard about it or you could one of those people who believe it and have put it into practice. Whether they have achieved what they set out to achieve or whether our living Father made it all come to pass is another blog post for another day.

The first time I heard this phrase was at a Christ Embassy Church service a few years ago. After the sermon and end of service prayer the Pastor requested that we take ownership of this statement as God had promised some amazing things were going to take place in our lives in the year ahead. Like most people I was excited and anticipating most of the good things God had promised and I shouted aloud with reverent belief “this is my year”.

As a Christian the Bible teaches us that without faith it is impossible to please the Lord. Faith is the foundation of our belief and trust in the Lord is key but in order for that to apply we have to take ownership of what we are praying and hoping for.

Acknowledging that this is “your year” is no different from setting up goals for the year or planning to get married or buying a house. These are all positive steps to our growth and if one can grow emotionally, mentally and spiritually yearly, what is wrong with that?

Claiming , trusting and believing that is your year means that you believe in the now and you are living in the now. You realize and appreciate that whatever you desire or seek , is yours and you deserve it. It means this is your time!!

I hope not. As long as we take accountability of who and what we desire to be it should not be a hit and run lifestyle where we adopt whatever we hear and see trending into our lives unless it’s positive. It should be an everyday thing. Like Beyonce when she says “I woke up like this” , you should wake up determined, purposeful and gunning for your dreams. Isn’t it also amazing how God encourages us to live each day as though it was our last, meaning give it your all and do your utmost best today, this month or this year. It depends what your now means to you. Trends come and go. This should be an everyday mantra till you reach the end of a year and your bucket list is checked and filled with more knowledge, experience, memories and new relationships.

Who determines if this my year or not?

I would like to say God is the beginning and end , right but then I remember that he is a loving Father who also enjoys our relationship with him when we are also willing participants and not spectators.

Only you and I can choose if this is our year or not. Nothing and no one can stand in our way. We not only already have God’s blessings but we have the promise that we are able to do anything we put our minds to. So I guess what stands between us and our success and proclaiming a great year ahead is ourselves, the fear we have and the limiting beliefs we allow .

If you have been in this blog before or know me personally, you would know that I lost my Father last year in July. This has been one of the greatest losses in my life. I take it one day at a time. Sometimes I have great days and other times I have terrible days and just need a hug, or a kiss or even chocolate but so far prayer has helped quite a lot.

That year started off badly for me and I was not celebrating at all. I was angry with God and just struggled with a lot of unanswered questions. I tried to bury myself into my work but that did not work. I wished the circumstances my family and I were going through away but that did not help either.

What helped was talking about it. I told God I was mad as hell with him. I started opening up about Dad’s illness and no longer felt the need to suffer alone and let me fear of what could happen cripple me. I soon realized that I was carrying quite a lot on my shoulders and did not need to. None of that load was mine to carry. It was Jesus’s.

I also realized that support is very important when we are having a crappy year . We cannot go through it alone. So to turn things around you need people you can trust and love you enough to hold your hand , walk with you and more importantly pray with you. These kind of people are rare to find , so when you have them share the load and allow them to be there for you.

We all need a distraction in our lives every now and again, specifically healthy ones. When I feel stuck and resolve that things are not going my way , I look for something new to do. This will excite me and keep my mind busy with research and brainstorming, so it helps. A little healthy distraction can inspire you to greatness and that can keep you focused on a new goal and you being happy and optimistic can turn things around for you.

Prayer can turn anything around but most of the time give us peace. This is something we can not undermine. It makes the world of a difference to believe in something or someone because that faith and hope can carry us through the toughest times.

If this is your year and you believe it, don’t waste anymore time. Go for it and grab whatever fulfills, gives you joy and makes you feel alive with both hands. Don’t apologize for wanting more out of life or a relationship.