My Word for the Year

Here it is April already and the middle, not the beginning, and I am just now picking my word for the year! I never did resolutions or goals this year either. Instead I just survived.

In March I turned 60! How did that happen? I couldn't be that old. I still have an almost 16 year old at home... I thought as I got older, I would get wiser. And yet the reality is that I continually realize how much more I have to learn. Sometimes that learning comes from someone younger, too.

I have had a rough couple of years. There has been a divorce in our family, another one is likely, and we have lost some incredible people in our lives. I also am dealing with some health issues. Plus we are busy. We are busy with homeschooling, co-op, family, grandchildren, church, politics, ministry, and life. Most of it is good! Some of it is hard. I always have a spinning mind of what to do next.

Consequently I don't always give my full attention to things or people. I get distracted. I multitask continuously. I am always thinking ahead. But it has become a fault. I am never fully in the moment. I didn't even realize it until I hurt my youngest daughter. I was not paying attention. I was not hearing her. I was not responding appropriately to her needs. I wounded her by my inattention.

It was not intentional. But it was just as wrong. And I didn't even know how often I was doing it. Even as I was giving a hug, my mind had moved onward. It wasn't just with her; it was becoming a habit with everyone and everything. While I was patting myself on the back for my multitasking, I was being selfish. I was not embracing the present, the gift of now.

I apologized to my daughters and have intentionally tried to pay attention to what I am doing, who I am with.

So my word for the rest of the year is to FOCUS! Focus on what is happening now, who I am with, what I am doing. I need to focus, to be specific. I need to live in the moment, enjoying God's gifts to me today, this hour, this moment.

So my life lesson came from my teen and young adult daughters. I have told them to remind me lest I forget, Say it: FOCUS! Don't miss out. Focus!