2019 was the year of intentions. Each month came with a simple every day word that seemed to morph into a challenge that tested my faith again and again.

January’s intention was to clean out the junk in my life – figuratively and literally. Every storage space, junk drawer, boxes of things kept over time that had not been looked inside of for years was discarded. Things I had once valued no longer seemed worthy of storing. I cleaned out my contact list. Forgave past hurts and moved on. And . . . I’m still a work in progress.

February’s intention was finances. It’s like a part time job, but we’ve paid off great amounts of medical debt and have accumulated positive strides towards our financial goals this year. Yay us!

March’s intention was mornings. I don’t sleep much or well. Most of the time when I do sleep, I don’t find sleep until the early morning hours. As soon as I find REM sleep, my alarm yanks me out of the depths of good sleep. I would like to be a morning person, but I’m just not. I’d say I mostly failed at this one.

April’s intention was attitude. Looking at different perspectives. Trying to be a little more understanding. It’s probably good to revisit this one every month to be honest.

May’s intention was management. Managing my time and my life. I seem to let it unravel and let things that don’t matter as much take control of my life and stress me out. I’ve gotten better – much better.

June’s intention was journey. I challenged myself to enjoy the journey I’m on regardless of what it is. And in June we went on a magical one through a small slice of Alaska.

July’s intention was joy. This one turned out to be tough as July came with moments I wouldn’t have necessarily considered joyful, but I went in search of the joy even inside of the heartache. I learned to step outside of the moment and see the joy and discovered it’s always there if you go searching for it. This reminded me that we find whatever it is we seek.

August’s intention was accomplishment. August is a crazy time of year, and I often feel like I do a lot and accomplish too little. I made lists with the sole intention of marking every item off of it. Success! Each month thereafter I’ve made a small list of what I must accomplish. It’s kept me focused and much more productive.

September’s intention was success. I learned this month that success can look very differently. Initially, I was very successful at one of my 2019 goals, but then I put that goal aside and focused on another one and sabotaged myself. So what was at first a success ended up being a disappointment by year’s end. I will have to work on this.

October’s intention was opportunity. Never in a million years would I have thought this intention would lead to an end of life adventure with our cousin, Michael. This month reminded me how important it is to not miss the call and to just drop everything and go.

November’s intention was no. I’m not always good at setting limits and saying “no” to things other people deem more important than I do. This month was really about sticking to my guns and putting God, family, and health first no matter what.

December’s intention was devotion. I spent this month devoted to the Word of God. I discovered things in scripture I had never noticed or paid attention to before. I also devoted my time, energy, and money to my family. With devotion comes joy and learning, love and cherished moments, and even disappointment and heartache. December defined this year. Twelve months full of love, excitement, joy, and precious moments but also heartache, pain, and shattered hearts.

2020 – new adventures await! New dreams, new goals, new intentions, new journeys, and new opportunities to make the most out of this thing we call life.