Tweet: “My #oneword2014 is faith… in my God, my relationships, my professional self, my runner self, and in my undiscovered abilities!”
To say this past calendar year has been a rough one may be an understatement. So to see 2014 come along feels like a breath of fresh air (well, until I step out into the single-digits temps and get my breath taken away…). As I was reading folks post and blog about their #OneWord2014 over the past week, my word just came to me. Faith.
Just before last Christmas, my husband and I made the decision to job search. In January I submitted my resignation letter, effective at the end of the fiscal year yet with no job lined up. Some may say it was a leap of faith. I went through the search process and found a job that would bring us back to the MidWest and closer to family, something we had both agreed we wanted.
Yet, come the end of June, I was unemployed. So, moving in with my in-laws, both my husband and I began the job search again. I was depressed. It was a very tough situation, but I was surrounded, both physically and emotionally, with family and friends who cared about me and prayed for me.
The search was challenging. I would get on-campus interviews, then they would go with another candidate. Coupled with some experiences I had had the past two years, I began to doubt my own professional abilities. “No” and it’s variations, became a word I dreaded. Friends, references, family… They all told me the right thing would come along. And they were right!
But during the “down time,” I challenged myself to try new things. My husband began using the Couch to 5K running program, and then began talking about signing up for races. Being a competitive person, I couldn’t just be left in the dust, so I began training, too. Participated in two races. I can’t say I ran both races, though I did run in them, just not the full race as I had hoped. In the new year, I am determined to run a full race. I don’t enjoy running (yet), but I want to accomplish this goal so badly, so I’m putting my faith in the running program and my own abilities to do so!
I also taught myself to crochet. Okay, so i watched YouTube videos and haven’t actually made something from a pattern yet, but I will. I did make lots of things over the past couple months and am proud of myself for making almost all of my Christmas gifts this year!
My mom and one of my closest friends both kept telling me that God will put me where he needs me. I got frustrated with that at times, though I’m not sure if I was frustrated at them for continuing to say it or God for not acting quickly enough for my liking. I’ve been raised Catholic, even married in the Catholic Church, but I don’t regularly practice. While unemployed, I began going to church more. Some times by myself, sometimes with family. I was so touched when one day after Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law asked if she could join me at church the next day. And honestly, that’s when things began to come together.
As someone who is a very “planned” person, I have trouble with putting my faith in the unknown, yet, I know that is something I need to do more of. So, when “faith” popped into my head about the “OneWord2014” I knew it was something I needed to move forward with. And so, I have “planned” some ways to keep my word ever-present in my mind and in what I do daily. I have FAITH this will be a good year and I look forward to strengthening and rekindling some relationships, trying new things, and deepening my own spiritual faith! I hope you are “planning” for a great 2014, too!
MichelleSujka 