Happy New Year! And 8th Day of Christmas! I’m really enjoying this stretching Christmas out thing. I know; my Catholic friends and relatives already know that it’s still Christmas season until Epiphany. But I’ve never done it before. If you’re new to the Compass Rose Queen, I’m doing a series of posts to celebrate each of the 12 Days of Christmas, with a gift to you each day of something inspirational/encouraging/fun. as well as a gift to the world by asking you to join me in prayer for a region/group of people/situation.
Yesterday we did some reflection on this past year. After posting, I sat down with my journal and wrote short answers to each of the 10 questions. (Much shorter than my answer to Question 1 that I included as a sample- I had too much fun describing some beautiful things I experienced last year!)
Today I’d like us to hope and dream and plan a bit for this next year. Don’t worry; it won’t be hard! And I know, even as we look forward, we will still look back to grieve things from this last year. Don’t be afraid of that. It was a tough year, and I don’t think positivity means pretending the hard stuff didn’t happen. Whether your grieving loss of work from lockdowns, loss of home from natural disasters or war, or loss of loved ones due to Covid or war or anything else, or even just feeling the grief of loneliness from all the social distancing, let yourself feel the pain of loss from time to time. But please keep looking forward with hope, too. I am trying to.
With that, let’s get started. I have three easy tasks to plan for 2021. And don’t forget to at least skim to the bottom to join me in prayer for a group of people.
Part 1: Ask yourself, what big things am I hoping for or looking forward to this year?
For me, most of the things I’m hoping for are too private to share on here. But I believe that verbalizing things can solidify our drive to make them happen as well as giving us things to look forward to. So I’ll share these two things: I would like to move to a 2-bedroom apartment. And as soon as it’s safe regarding Covid, I hope to drive to the Southwest to visit my BFFs, and if I can afford the time and money, to Texas and the Midwest to visit my relatives. What am I going to do about these things? I plan to set up a separate savings account for a new apartment (deposit, etc.). It’s been in my spending plan for a while, but without a separate savings account for it, I just keep forgetting to actually set that money aside for it. And I already have a practice of setting aside money for travel.
Part 2: What new things did I do in 2020 that I would like to do again, or make into traditions?
I did a lot of new short-term/seasonal things that I hope to do again, like Zoom family reunions and game nights, peach-picking, mushroom hunting, cider pressing, taking my mom kayaking, wildflower hiking, watching Dinner For One on New Year’s Eve, and many others. Even if I don’t do them all again this year, they were great experiences.
There’s one long-term thing that I did that I definitely want to do again. This was the first full calendar year that I completed a gratitude journal by filling it in every single day. My writer friend Doreen gave me a “2020 Vision Planner” she’d designed that had space for this as well as other spaces for planning and reflection. Little did she know how vital that would become when days (which became weeks and months) stuck at home due to the pandemic blurred into one another. Finding something to be grateful for each day became a lifeline. Sometimes it was just for enough break from the rain to go for a walk. Other times for a gift from a friend or something that went well. Still other times for a characteristic of God (His love, etc.). Thank you, Doreen!
And in keeping with that gratefulness practice, I’m thankful for these new things that helped 2020 feel not so wasted. And thankful to God for helping me survive this crazy year.
Part 3: What new experiences or practices do I want to try in 2021?
I’ll have to consult my thick “My Ultimate Bucket List” book that one of my besties gave me for this one. A lot of the time, I stumble upon things, like the unplanned mushroom hunting when a friend and I hiked the forested ridges at the coast this last summer, or when a friend invites me to do something I’d never done before. I definitely want to go back to the bouldering gym once they reopen from the lockdowns, because I have more punches to use on my card. That one’s not really new, but still a goal. I’d like to raft the Rogue and hike the Steens and Wallowas and Broken Top and every other gorgeous mountain in Oregon. Ooh, here in the middle of the book is one that I’d marked but haven’t done yet: Submit a photo to National Geographic! I should do that. I have entered photos in the county fair and scrapbook pages in the state fair, but nothing to Nat Geo. Oh, there’s so many things I’d like to do!
Happy dreaming and planning and having high hopes for this new year! I hope it is a good year for all of us, despite the challenges that will inevitably come our way.
For today’s prayer, let’s pray for everyone who is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts. Here in my region, this is a dark time of year from all the rain and short days, and even in normal years it can be tough on people. And now people are more isolated and lonely than ever due to the pandemic. Please pray for hope and for help for anyone who is struggling with this. Thank you.
The Compass Rose Queen 