Not just a transition year

I could easily see 2019 merely as a setup for, or a transition into, or an opening act for 2020. In 2020, God willing, we will return to Seattle and I will be ordained a priest. In 2020, I’ll turn 50. In 2020, the nation will hold another presidential election, a chance for the electorate to weigh in on all the chaos of recent years. 2020: a landmark year in the making.

But that’s no way to live. We all get 365 chances in 2019 to do something non-transitory, in addition to all the things that carry us forward into the future. With that in mind, I am contemplating not resolutions (“resolutions” … a word that reminds me of Roberts’ Rules of Order and seems destined to lead to frustration) but projects, enterprises, adventures. Some of them are:

  1. I want to level up on running and fitness, having arrived at and dwelled on a long plateau through the last year or so. It’s a nice plateau, and I have managed to keep up with my health and fitness goals for more than four years now, but my body wants a new challenge. I’ll run a 1/2 marathon in March (my second one), and keep up my focus on strength. Why? Because my physical health is a tremendous gift that I want to cherish.

  2. I will go to Jerusalem in June, and do congregational development work in the summer. I’ve done all of these things before, but not in the new ways, and with new perspectives, that will make 2019 a landmark year in my professional development.

  3. I will continue my deep immersion in theological work, beginning with exciting classes in the spring, and the first half of a thesis in the fall. My thesis will focus on sin, the fall, remorse, and reconciliation through the lens of addiction.

  4. Andrew and I are planning a fun spring break at the Happiest Place on Earth, and that stands tall in 2019 as a highlight. We are also planning to explore DC more intentionally this year.

  5. I always focus on friendships in my life, and plan to simply try to be a better friend this year.

Not so bad, 2019! Let’s see what’s out there.

(Photo: no New Year is complete without homemade gingerbread people.)