I chose my first bible verse to memorize on January 1st, but I haven't gotten around to writing about it on the blog until now. However, I have been working on memorizing it! I've basically got it down already and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to remember. By the end of New Year's Day, I pretty much had it. I typically say it to myself all throughout the day, every day, to make sure I don't forget it, which in turn helps me keep all the negative and toxic thoughts out of my head as well! I'm sure this will get more difficult as I add additional verses throughout the year, but I will be working hard to retain them all.
I will be choosing each verse carefully and with purpose because I want to make sure that I really get as much out of this experience as possible. Therefore, I want to share my thoughts about each verse that I choose because I think that reflecting on what we read in the gospel is just as important as reading it in the first place. So without further adieu...the first verse that I am going to be learning for 2015 is Jeremiah 29:11
I thought that this verse was fitting for kicking off the New Year, since the beginning of a new year is always a time that people spend planning out their goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. When starting out a fresh year, we all tend to make our own plans. We plan out what we want to change about our lives, habits we want to quit, or projects we want to start. We plan those things out for ourselves. However, what we tend to forget is that God already has a wonderful plan for our lives, one that we have no control over. So while it's still great to make your own plans (trust me, I certainly do), remember to look to God when making your plans because he already has done a lot of the work for you. Alas, my first reason for choosing this verse. As I sit down to make my plans for 2015, I was to remind myself to ask God for guidance when doing so.
Reason number two...I'm addicted to planning. I recently wrote an entire blog post about my agenda planner. I have to plan everything. I wrote a birth plan for my delivery with Peyton, It was one full page typed. You should have seen the look on the labor and delivery nurse's face when I handed her 5 copies of my birth plan (one for her, the doctor and each member of my delivery team). And you know what, Peyton's birth absolutely did not go according to the plan I had written, but being able to walk into the hospital with a plan in hand maybe me feel prepared and calm, and helped me stay that way throughout my entire delivery. That is why I plan. I tend to over-think, over-react and freak out about things that have not even happened yet. Therefore, I plan. If I plan it out ahead of time, then I can enter the situation calm and prepared (and with about 30 possible back up plans).
However, I've realized over the years that when my long-term plans (such as getting pregnant) are repeatedly and severely disrupted over time, I don't cope well. Over a year ago, I finally learned how to let go of my life plans and learn to rely on God's plan for my life. This was a difficult pill for me to swallow and it took a lot of effort and prayer on my part to get me there. I have made huge progress in this department from where I started about 18 months ago, but I have fully embraced the "let go, and let God" mantra. That being said, I always want to remember to do so. When life gets tough, it's hard to not get easily overwhelmed and upset with God. It's easy to blame him for everything. I blamed him for years for my infertility. I blamed him for taking my dad away from me. I blamed him for FSU losing football games (just kidding, but seriously). I blamed him for everything in my life that did not go according to the grand plan I had created for myself. Which is why I desperately need this verse, Jeremiah 29:11, in my life. I need it to remind me that God had a plan for me, and it's a good one. He's not trying to mess with me or screw up my plans, he just has a better plan for me than I had for myself.
I want to start off the year with this verse, and I want to promise myself that no matter what life throws at us this year, that I will be prepared with this verse to remind me of God's plan.
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