Live Like That

It's the end of January. How is your New Year's resolution coming along? Yay, you if you are making progress towards it! If you have fizzled out in the process, I'd say try again or break it down into smaller chunks so you feel victorious after achieving one small chunk at a time.

Some people set goals for the new year sometime in December. Others set goals sometime in early January. I have a friend who used to go on a trip alone. She would check in to a hotel, an Airbnb, or a spiritual retreat center somewhere surrounded by as much nature as possible. She would keep the TV and phone off and be outside in nature to talk to God, to reflect, and to listen. And that is how she would set goals.

As for me, I like to spend a lot of time reflecting. I don't do it in one sitting or even in one day, but over a few weeks. I ponder on a lot of things from the previous year, but also over the last several years. I try to see where and how the Lord has worked in my life. I don't purposely think about it all the time, but it's one of those things where I also do it in my subconscious. Hard to explain, but it's kind of like having your apps running in the background on your phone or a tab opened on your computer. It's there ready for you to click on it and pick up where you left off. That's the best way I can think of right now to describe my way of reflecting :)

Looking back over this last year, and the last several years, I could see how the Lord has been with me, has taken care of me, and has put me in places where I did not want to be. Of course, you know the saying, "Hindsight is always 2020." I cannot miss but see how He wanted to accomplish His will in those hard places and one of those is for my spiritual growth. Stop right there. I want you to know I'm no more special than you. Spiritual growth is His will for all of us. It is His will for you, and it is His will for me. A lot of times, growth comes through hard times, right? Even as hard as it was at times, I would not want to go back or change it for anything. Sure, my fleshly human self says, "Yes!", but my soul tells me, "Fleshly self, you know better than that."

So back to goal setting, some people have really elaborate plans. As for me, I didn't have a list or even just the one thing I wanted to accomplish this year. Maybe I have a boring life--haha--I don't know. However, recently as I was walking on the treadmill inside because the weather was cruddy outside, I was listening to songs on Spotify when this one came up. I hadn't heard it in a long time. This song was written I think about 10 years ago. The words really resonated in my soul for days and I realized I found my goals, not just for 2023, but for life.

Live Like That by Sidewalk Prophets

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I'm only just a memory
When I'm home where my soul belongs
Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of those
Was my worship more than just a song

(Chorus)
I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You
If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back
I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change a heart
Do I live like Your love is true
People pass
And even if they don't know my name
Is there evidence that I've been changed
When they see me, do they see You

(Chorus)

(Bridge)
I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King

(Chorus)

At the beginning of this song, the lyrics say, "Sometimes I think, what will people say of me when I'm only just a memory when I'm home where my soul belongs." Those are great lines! As for me, do you know what I want to hear when "I'm home where my soul belongs"? I hope to hear my Creator say to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Matthew 25:21a