Imagination- 2013

The function of the imagination is “not to make strange things settled so much as to make settled things strange; not so much to make wonders facts as to make facts wonders.” G.K. Chesterton

2013 is already in full swing, as far as the calendar goes, but life has yet to go back to normal. Em heads back to school tomorrow and with that, I think, will begin another season of normalcy. I'm ready for routine and normal and am determined to jump into some beautiful rhythms in my own life and with my family. I don't know if it's the resolution call of the new year or what, but I remember wanting the same thing last year at this time. I want to enjoy the flow of life through structured time, in order to live more creatively. Matt and I were just talking last night about if we don't have specific time set aside for what's important to us, then it just doesn't happen. While I may shrivel up and die without a bit of spontaneity, I also want to live intentionally this year. 

I want to live from a deeper imagination.

I think that's my word of 2013.
Imagination.

im·ag·i·na·tion

[ih-maj-uh-ney-shuh n] noun

- the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses.

- ability to face and resolve difficulties; resourcefulness

2012 tired me out in many ways. Partially from not taking time to let myself imagine more, to think creatively, to face and resolve difficulties through concepts that are not actually present to the senses because maybe I've gotten too used to asking the wrong questions and expecting different solutions. My brain needs some muscle confusion this year.

I'm resolved to continuously, actively search for the beauty in the places where it shouldn't be. Instead of searching for better answers and solutions, pose better questions. Always go deeper. Challenge the typical frameworks that lead us away from the Point. To more fully understand the story of the history that I am a part of, my roots in an ancient Hebrew faith in a God that has been weaving His story throughout the ages. A God who continues to work today. 

I'm resolved for my children to know the Word of God as more than just a collection of stories, facts, or rules, but to see in it the invitation to know the God who woos and invites us into relationship with him, to worship with their lives, to chase him and see him work in all things. I don't want to manage my little ones; I want to be a vehicle that awakens their little hearts and minds.

I'm learning to phase out the old, tired words of relationship stiflers- fear, gossip, and self-interest and replace them with courage, vulnerability and loving others as myself. I can be so patient with my own foibles but fail to extend the same grace to others. My level-headed husband is broadening my imagination by helping me learn to let go instead of holding tightly to hurts that grip me. I'm sure we can imagine greater ways to love and serve each other this year as well. We recently unlocked some of the mysteries of the other with a personality assessment test. While it sounds completely lame, I think it will actually help guide us through areas that we haven't been able to figure out before.

And finally, as I navigate the waters of seeking God's mercy and justice, I can't help but be reminded of one of the greatest lessons I learned last year. My ears have been tuned to what God is doing in our world and has placed me on a path that will include times of loneliness and discouragement. That's okay though. I just need to keep walking, one foot in front of the other, being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, learning to pray as never before. I will fail at times. I will get things wrong. I will want to throw my hands up and forget it. But I won't. I won't. I won't. As Gary Haugen said the other day, "If you enter into this fight you will need Him, you will seek Him and you will find Him."

This year, as never before, my life will be washed in prayer that seeks, that longs, that boldly approaches the ultimate Artist and Imagination-Shaper.