It’s a few days after Christmas and true to my nature, I’m making lists and goals and daydreaming about the next steps for my life in 2020. I love a fresh start.
Tony Robbins says that all people are deeply connected to 1 of these 6 core principles.
More than one may apply but there’s typically one that stands out.
1. Love and connection – personality need (Deeply intimate Human connections)
2. Significance – personality need (Great Achievement)
3. Certainty – personality need (Security and Safety)
4. Variety – personality need (Adventure and change)
5. Growth – spiritual need (Ever increasing emotional and intellectual personal development)
6. Contribution – spiritual need (The need to serve others outside of yourself)
The bolded ones stand out to me. Specifically growth these days. I feel like the last few years have been full of growth. Even though it may not have looked like I was growing in the moment.
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I’ve always been a planner.
Even when I was a teenager.
I had a list.
It went something like this:
Start college. 2007
Finish college. 2012
Get married. 2012
Buy a house. 2014
Have another baby. 2015
Live happy ever after: Once all these things are accomplished.
Those were my goals. And they all happened.
And now…my goals are getting harder and harder to articulate.
I’ve done the big stuff.
House: check.
Babies: Check.
Marriage: Check.
Career: Check.
But do you know when I was the happiest I’ve ever been?
It was after my divorce.
I was completely single.
I was serving an awful lot at the pregnancy center during that time.
I was focusing a lot on what brought me joy.
I was immersed in the word of God.
And I was completely content.
I wasn’t really racing to a finish line. I was just in healing mode.
When you break a leg, you don’t walk on it until it heals. So you rest it. Still.
When your spirits a little broken, it needs time to rest and heal too.
You can’t run a race with a broken leg.
And I couldn’t run the race God has for me with a broken spirit.
God calls us to full life of wholeness.
And what are the odds that I found wholeness in what seemed like a wrong turn in the story of my life?
I was listening to a sermon the other day by Steven Furtick at Elevation Church and he said :
“Sometimes God sends your life on a zig zag - on purpose. Sometimes he takes you the long way around the mountain because he knows how fragile your faith is at that time.”
He’s such a gracious God and he doesn’t want us to fail. So he takes our life on a zig zag to give us time to figure things out at our unique pace and build our faith along the way.
He likened it to when Moses led the Egyptians out of slavery. God didn’t lead them along the quickest route to safety. He actually took them the long way. And he makes the point that what you’re leaving behind is often what kick starts your path for the future. Sometimes our past of pain and delays and detours is the platform for how it’s all used for his Glory and our good in the end. Perhaps the zig zag is what launches us forward and prepares us.
That sermon made me really grateful for the zig zags in my life.
The wrong turns.
They weren’t a surprise to anyone but us.
God already knew.
They were inevitable.
God created me with my specific nature and skills and sins…and he created a unique Segway for my escape. It doesn’t always look like you’re climbing up or improving but each zig zag is getting you closer to where you’re going.
You can’t beat the zig zag.
You can’t choose a short cut out of your struggles, past, issues, heartache, etc.
You must walk through them. Like a maze.
Because that maze was designed specifically for you.
And it’s a maze he’ll guide you through.
And it’s your way out of slavery.
Because your enemies won’t make it through the maze.
They’ll be lost and left behind in your past.
But you will make it out.
So, Embrace the zig zag.
It’s your escape route if you tune into the Lord, and his word, he’ll leave you bread crumbs guiding you through.
The other day, one of my girlfriends was talking about how God doesn’t want us to be lukewarm in our choices. How he would rather us go full force in the wrong direction than no direction because at least he can more quickly correct a wrong direction and get us on the right course.
So, even if the zig zag takes you down the “wrong” path or becomes a delayed departure to your destiny…God promises to use our detours and delays for his glory and our ultimate joy.
So, going into 2020…whatever zig zag you’ve been on…God knew you would make the choices you made before you were even born. So embrace the zig zag and here’s to zig zagging into 2020!
Zig zags are inevitable at times BUT I believe having clear, written goals minimizes the time we spend on detours.
So, if you haven’t already, write your goals down for 2020:
The prompt below will help you plan and pray over the 7 major areas of your life.
But first, my prayer for you in 2020 is this:
Lord, I pray over every eye that reads this blog. I pray that you would speak to each of them uniquely and specifically to their current life circumstances and zig zags. I pray that you would open their eyes to the ways it will be used for your glory and their greatest joy. Give us all eyes to see and ears to hear the prompts and wisdom we have access to through your holy spirit. I pray for divine revelation for people reading this about their next steps in 2020. I pray over their relationships, careers, finances, health, their hearts and spirits…that they would all be attuned to you. Lord, we spend so much time looking outward for peace – I pray that today, as people read this, the supernatural peace that only comes from you comes down to them. Directly down to their hearts, pierced forever. Give them a fresh wind of favor and power and love and anointing and boldness and freedom that comes only from you. I pray that every heart falls more in love with you for the unique ways that you’ve shown up for them.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Now...onto 2020!
There are 7 major life areas that we need goals and plans for in our lives.
Here they are with prompts to spur your imagination:
Finances
Goal Income:
# of sales per month to reach goal:
Do I invest?
Do I tithe 10%?
Do I save 10%?
How many streams of revenue do I want?
Career
What deeply inspires me?
What do I love about my job?
What do I want to do more of?
What’s the next step to help me reach the big picture goal?
Marriage and Relationships
Focus on season of single?
Go to counseling?
Date more intentionally? Consistent date nights?
Plan business meetings for your relationship to make sure it’s on track?
Do little things every week to show your love for each other
Join a couples small group
Family + Kids
Game night?
Travel?
Quality time?
Eat all meals together?
Self – What brings you joy?
Monthly Massages?
1 day per month designated for rest/visioning/checking in on your goals
Travel
Dance Classes
Cooking lessons
Spiritual
Serving?
Small groups?
Church consistently on Sundays?
Read the bible more
Implement a daily devotional?
Health/Fitness
Choose a health plan?
Join a gym?
Commit to certain days of exercise each week
Pre plan meals
We can’t avoid zig zags…we’re all so uniquely complicated in our sin.
But maybe we’ll get where we’re going a little bit quicker if we start looking for the bread crumbs God’s leaving us.
