End Well

This year has been a year of BIG! I’ve had so many wonderful memories watching my children grow and go. I threw several celebrations in my home, from graduations to a bridal shower and a wedding reception. After it was all over I looked around and sat in gratefulness over my life because I felt I had done my best.

It was so refreshing as I was there on the other side of the BIG and now I am basking in how lovely everything ended, how full my heart is and how blessed I am by God.

From the very beginning of this year I knew that I needed to plan and get ready. But one of the things I really wanted to do was to do it well. Now, I know I can’t do everything perfectly, but I wanted to do the best I could. And I made up my mind that I was going to do it.

So, I made a list of what ending well meant to me.

*To keep my cool in stressful moments.

*To take care of me and my family in the busy.

*To do it all debt free (we tried to do as much as we could in our home which meant we had some projects that had needed to get done. So we fixed things, weeded, mulched, prepared and painted…it’s amazing what a little paint can do).

*Mostly, I wanted to create beautiful memories.

I wanted to do my best so I applied my favorite mantra…

~ Do what you can with what you have, where you are.

Theodore Roosevelt.

I’m so thankful when I look back because I did it…the best I could with what I had where I was… and it did end well, again, not perfect…but well.

As I was sitting there reflecting, I heard God say... “well done, you did your part.” I thought about that for a moment… I thought how God provided and I tended. And this got me to thinking how much our life is like that... how we get to do our part.

Matthew 6:15 MSG

“If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.”

Something rang true in my heart that day. I’m a part of this plan~ I play a part. I need to do my part. We are created to work; our body is made to move and think. God did not call us to just sit on the couch and wait for Him to move us. He calls us to be an active participant in this life. We must move! For example, He gave us His word, but it is our job to read it and apply it. (Boy, wouldn’t it be nice if those things happened by osmosis?) He gave us our body, but it is our job to care for it, use it and move it.

So many times in scripture I see God calling His people to step out in action before He does something.

When God called the Israelites to cross the Jordan river, they needed to step in it first before the river divided. Also, when the Israelites came to the Red Sea, Moses was told by God to raise His staff before the Red Sea was parted.

We play a part…

God is calling us to step out. (Step out in action ~and faith requires action.) Often, we have to do our part first, we have to move.

And at the beautiful ending... the rest came.

When I rested, it was a sweet rest, a rest knowing I had done my part... it was a seventh day kind of rest. (And that encouraged me to want to continue doing my part so I can end well).

God does want us to rest, but there is a balance of rest and doing our part.

Here’s the thing….. I think many of us want to do big things for God and deep down we want to end well! We do want to do our part. But, many of us are not taking care of what God has already provided for us to tend to. Maybe we’re not taking care of our home, our marriage, our family, our bodies…God gives & provides for us, but we need to tend to ALL God has given us. We often neglect some of those things because maybe the mess is too big, the issues are too much, we don’t feel like it or we don’t have everything we think we need to do the job… and we secretly hope that God will use us somewhere else and in different ways. But we need to start caring for what God has already given us. How can we be trusted in the big things if we can’t be trusted in the little things (Luke 16:11-12)? That includes our bodies, minds, family, marriage, relationships... I want to encourage us all to end well in ALL the things that God has already provided for us.

Life is full of choices. And the scriptures say, “you will reap what you sow” (Galatians 6:7-8). Let’s choose the best way we can and let’s make up our minds, knowing we can play a part in your ending, and watch what God will do. And remember you can most certainly play a part in beginning and middle too. I know it won’t always be perfect…so many outside forces will try to keep us from doing our part. But let’s not be controlled by outside forces. Even though they can be hard, we can still do our part... to make it the best. (Even if it doesn't go as planned, when we look back, we’ll be happier knowing we chose to do the best we could with what we had where we were.)

You know, there is only a little time left in the year. Most people just try and get by, but some good choices and doing our part for one month can make the entire year feel like it was successful.

How do you want to end 2022?

Here are a few simple tips that I learned on how to end well, and it can be applied to anything in life…spiritual, relational, mental, physical health and growth.

We need to start and you can start wherever you are. Start well to end well.

1. Mind-set matters! Maybe you’ve heard the saying…

“Whether you think you can or you can’t you’re right.“

If you believe you can’t than you won’t, but if you believe you can, you will. There is so much truth to that because our bodies, on a cellular level, react and believe what we think. That’s why it is so so important to make sure we are saturating our minds in truth. And remember, what you focus on, your body follows. Or as Lysa Terkeurst says… “Where you stare where you steer.” So start by believing you can.

You can end well, you can eat healthy, you can be debt free, you can make time to exercise, you can spend time with family, you can spend time with Jesus, you can organize, you can be different, whatever it is, you can!

And the cool thing is that once you start believing you can… your brain is going to work to prove it.

2. Decide to do it. Make up your mind before hand. Think about why are you doing it. Make a why list and place it somewhere you will be reminded of why you want to end well. Put it somewhere that you will see it often and look at it as a fresh reminder.

3. Plan ahead. Set yourself up for success! If your goal is to eat healthy… then keep healthy foods on hand. Prep ahead. Take healthy dishes to gatherings. If you choose to indulge, plan when you are and then make the choice to get right back on track. Throw away foods you don’t want to be tempted with (you are not a garbage can).

If you want to build memories, schedule them in your calendar. Keep a planner to help you remember what you need to get done. Set a financial budget for Christmas and move the money you’re saving to a place that makes it harder to get your hands on.

One of the best ways we can end well is to plan ahead!!

4. Keep it as simple as you can. Don’t go around trying to make big changes during a busy season. Just do the best you can with what you have, where you are.

5. Give yourself grace!! We are not going to be able to do everything perfectly. And that’s okay. Dropping one egg out of the carton is better than throwing the entire carton on the floor and smashing it into the floor.

Try every day to do your best, even if the day before was a complete disaster. It’s better to have one bad day than an entire season filled with regret. I would rather say, “I did my best” instead of saying…“I wish I would have.”

Blooming Challenge: Do your part and you won’t believe how God will show up for you in ways you could never imagine.

Let’s END WELL together.

Please know I’m. Praying for each of you that is on my list as followers. I’m so very thankful you read and support. Thank you for a wonderful year.

Recommended Reading

Luke16:11-12

Galatians 6:7-8

Matthew 6:15