Each day this month I will be answering one question from these December Journal Prompts.

Day 31: Where do you envision yourself a year from now and what will it take?

One year from now, I want to be able to look back on 2019 with a sense of satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment.

That sounds like a vague answer, but truthfully, I think it’s just as simple as that. I’ve learned that it’s not always healthy or wise for me to make bold resolutions about big changes that I want to make in my life. Because when I do, one of two things typically happens. I either end up realizing that I can’t keep up with the demands of the goal and tank myself trying, or I give up completely and feel tanked by my apparent failure. And I don’t want that for myself in 2019.

I just want to enjoy my year. And 365 days from now, I want to be able to reflect on a year that was just as rich and beautiful as the one I just had.  I want to be able to take pride in my accomplishments and forgive my failures. I want to be able to celebrate my growth and learn from my mistakes. I want to have a heart that is bursting from a year spent making wonderful memories, cherishing the moments, and expressing love.

What will it take? It will take me being awake. It will take choosing to live in the present moment, rather than allowing mindless distraction to be my god. It will take purposefully deciding to see the good in life, rather than focusing on the negative. It will take intentionality in how I parent, how I work, how I treat my husband, and how I interact with others. It will take prioritizing my relationship with Jesus above all else and choosing to trust him in the moments when hope seems lost.

One year from now, I don’t want to have ticked a certain set of boxes off a bucket list. I simply want to have lived a life that I can be proud of—a life to which God could respond, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful.”