Hello, 2023, the Year of Restoration

It’s been 2023 for 11 days. I haven’t been charmed, to be honest. We’ve have wave after wave of troubles and bad news. I’ve been utterly swamped and stressed. But yesterday in my devotions I read, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof,” and I’m hoping it’s true for 2023 too.

I completely forgot about picking a word of the year until I saw someone’s post on theirs and remembered I should do mine. I sat down to think and pray about it, but before I was even able to do anything, one word popped into my mind: restore. On a whim, I looked up “Bible verses on restore” and gasped when I saw the first result.

“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds,” saith the Lord; “because they called thee an Outcast, saying, ‘This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.’”

Jeremiah 30:17

There is so much in that verse that applies to me. My health is broken; my heart is wounded. I often feel like an outcast (I’m not even kidding) and as you know, I struggle a lot with believing my looks and character make me unattractive. Although I’ve come very far, I still desire marriage intensely, and just before seeing this verse, actually had a bit of a meltdown at being nearly 23 and unmarried. So I felt like this verse was a divine promise spoken directly at me.

Immediately a worship song came to mind, and again, it almost felt like a promise.

I will make all things new! I will watch over you! I will renew, I will restore, I am there! I am your God! I will make all things new! I paid the price for you! I am the Lord, I am your God, you are mine.

But it was the next Sunday, as we sang the hymns, this one stood out to me because of how much I am struggling right now spiritually… and when I thought of restore, I thought of restoring my relationship with my Father… and we all know that good things stem from a strong spiritual relationship.

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in endless praise…

So this is what restore means to me this year.

In 2023, I want to
~read my Bible and pray daily
~have fun (but disciplined fun)
~eat, drink, sleep, and exercise well
~learn how to pray about everything instead of worrying
~read
~overcome guilt
~keep my room clean and do my laundry
~be kinder & more humble
~work hard + portion time well
~be present
~write + publish
~engage in adventure + things I am not sure about
~take a picture every day
~give freely
~adult more
~be content
~memorize scripture
~ask & do the things I want to instead of being afraid or self-repressive
~wait for the future patiently while living a good present

This year, my greatest dreams are to

1. launch my podcast
2. ace at my current job (and be rehired??) + take a teaching course + score a new job for the last half of 2023
3. move!!!
4. drive 24/7 (ok maybe not that much but you get the idea)
5. break free from my addictions
6. read 600 books
7. publish The Colour Red and join 4 anthologies
8. travel? to Alberta?? meet friends???
9. journal daily
10. get more books B)

Obviously, some other minor goals are participating in the Read Another Page 2023 Reading Challenge and my own Old-Fashioned Reading Challenges; keep up my 3-posts-a-week OFBL schedule and 1-post-a-week schedule on LBFJ, as well as post film reviews on my old blog. I haven’t any idea for instagram but just posting using some different challenges. So yeah, a much smaller gameplan than 2022’s, but hopefully more sustainable and fulfilling.

So, 2023, I don’t really know what to expect from you. I know you’ll have ups and downs. I hope you’ll fulfill a lot of dreams, and present good challenges even if I don’t want them. But I know that regardless of what happens, I’ll be able to trace God’s wonderful plan throughout the days and months…

May 2023 is a year of restoration physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

What are your 2023 goals and dreams, cupcakes?