Happy New Year to you.

Wow! It’s 2018! Can you believe it? It’s a blessing to have made it to this year. Christmas was spent with sweet lingering smells of holiday cooking which included jollof rice, my family of five posing in front of our decorated Christmas tree for our annual Christmas photos, and visiting wonderful friends. Some days later, the new year swept us off our feet and with feelings of anticipation, we prayed, did a countdown, and finally screamed, “Happy New Year” while watching the famous ball drop in New York right from our TV set.

Once more, most of us have gone into a deep reflective mode to consider what we want our 2018 to look like. If you’ve said, “This year, I’m going to do X, Y, and Z,” then you are in the right place. You’re part of the gang.

However, before you read further, I want you to carve something really important inside your heart – God alone sees the vantage point. He saw your story even before it was written. He knew your story before you were born, He knows the intricate details of where you are right now, and He is ordaining your story for the future. What an amazing God if we can just trust Him with our lives.

Still, You Need to Make Choices

Now, let’s get to it. God has the vantage point, but He created us in His image and He wants us to make choices. Trusting in Him is not enough. Faith without action is unbelief. When you believe, you will take one step forward with Him.

But how will you make the right choices? You may be asking this question right now.

The Answer Lies in Your Uniqueness

I’ve noticed something very unique about me. Whenever I try to fit into somebody else’s pants, it doesn’t work out. Whenever I am not myself, it backfires. But whenever I listen to the voice of God, whenever I meditate on what God wants me to do to fulfill my purpose in this world, that’s when everything starts to make sense. You know, the peace of God is always there when you’re walking in His will, but when you choose to ignore Him, you will find that everything will become chaotic.

So in 2018, what scenarios do we really want to experience and what temperament do we want our hearts to be in? Would we prefer our hearts to be totally submerged in the peace of God or to be engaged in a series of unsettling chaotic warfare? The answer lies within you.

Today, I am going to show you how what you will do this year, 2018, will be part of your life’s story and I’m going to explore this by comparing your story to one woman’s story and how she affected what happened a certain night when Jesus was in Bethany at a friend’s house for dinner some days before his death (Matthew 26:6-13).

One Woman’s Choice and How it became Her Life’s Story

Jesus was having dinner at Simon’s house and, all of a sudden, this woman comes dashing through the doors with only one mission in her mind. Bold-faced, set like a flint, her single mission was to pour a very expensive jar of oil on the head of the Son of God.

So she walked right to where He was seated, not minding the horrible stares she got from people. Imagine the looks on their faces. The shock. The disdain. She took off the lid, tilted the jar, and started pouring this really expensive oil on the head of Jesus. Keep in mind that in this setting, pouring oil on someone’s head was highly symbolic. It was considered as a preparation for an important role, for example, a king’s head would generally be anointed with oil before he was given access to his throne.

She was obviously showing respect and honor. At that very hour, she felt so strongly that this was the right thing to do. And she did not do it cheaply. I understand this woman because many times in my life, I’ve felt so strongly about something I had to do that it made my heart feel like it was on fire. I’ve felt so strongly about things I had to do that are not considered to be the norm. Things that would make you turn your head, but I just knew I was meant to do them.

So let’s continue our story.

After she poured the oil on His head, the disciples started complaining. They murmured amongst themselves that she should have sold the oil in the market and the money should have been given to the poor. They asked Jesus, “Don’t you think what this woman did was wasteful? Why would she do such a thing?” But Jesus simply told them that she did it to prepare Him for His burial. He added that wherever the gospel would be told in the future, what this woman did will be mentioned to remember her. Hmm.

Are You Getting the Picture?

A lot of times, we want to stick to the traditional practices (which may not make much sense to you) that have been going on for years and years. We don’t want to do anything differently that will be frowned upon, and we fear that what we do would be considered weird or crazy.

Please, let me ask you today. Was that woman crazy? Or did she do what no one else had done to fulfill her own purpose? What will you do in 2018 that is “uniquely YOU?” Ask yourself, “What can I do that God wants me to do in 2018? What has God specifically called me and just me alone to do? What can I do for my home (or family, or career, or brand) that God wants me to do in 2018?”

You Are Not Other People

It doesn’t matter whether other people have done it before. It doesn’t matter whether people have not done it before. It doesn’t matter whether it’s part of a tradition. It doesn’t matter whether you’re sticking to the same things that people have done over centuries or if you’re suddenly breaking away this year.

What matters is that your heart is totally submerged in the peace of God and that there is no chaos surrounding your decision. That’s all that matters, people, in the large scope of things. Think about the big picture. Think about your legacy. God’s peace concerning your decision is all that matters this year.

Finally, I want to encourage you to really meditate on what will be part of your life’s story as a wife, as a mother, as a woman, as an individual, and let me tell you something…girlfriend, just do it. Be like that woman who poured oil on Jesus’ head. You don’t owe anyone an explanation. But you owe it to yourself to be who God has created you to be.

Take Action: Many years down the line, what you will accomplish in 2018 will be part of what people will say about your overall story. You only have a window to do it, so I want to encourage you that you should go forth and do what God has called you to do and be everything that God has called you to do in 2018.

Happy New Year everyone. I look forward to writing more Blog posts in 2018. God bless you. I’d love to read from you. How was your transition into the new year? I pray that as you read this, it ignites a level of boldness you didn’t know you had in you.

Love, me.