I have never been a big New Years’ resolution kind of person. I thought I had good excuses. First, we never really know what the year will throw at us and it is easy to feel defeated if we don’t achieve a goal when circumstances beyond our control take over life. The entire year of 2020 is a good example of this. If you had the goal to do a lot of traveling and see the world in 2020, you probably struggled to achieve this goal. If you had the goal to attend the temple more often, 2020 didn’t help you out. If you had the goal to become a hermit and stay in your pajamas for days on end, 2020 was your year! The second reason I’ve never been a big resolution maker is fear. We all know fear is never a reason to make or not make decisions, but saying that and believing that can be two different things.
Near the end of 2020, I struggled with writing. Could I keep writing? What could I write about? I desperately wanted to do what Heavenly Father wanted me to do. I have tried to be willing to obey and please God. As I prayed about what to do, I felt like the Heavens were silent for months. I wasn’t sure if I should keep writing blog posts or not. I was at a place where I needed to up my writing game and if I wasn’t willing to do that, I could walk away and do something different. I weighed this for months and felt like I wasn’t getting direction or permission to move one direction or the other. Thanksgiving weekend I decided to look at things a different way. One morning during prayer I remembered one of my favorite scriptures,
“what desirest thou?”
1 Nephi 11:2
Well, Camille, what do you want to do? I want to write, but I’m afraid. Fear isn’t a good reason to decide anything so I had to discount that. I want to write, but is it what I “should” be doing?
After pondering this for a few days, I had what I will call divine intervention. Within a 24 hour period, I had several personal friends comment on my blog and how they enjoyed my writings. Then, at the end of that 24 hours, I had another person follow up with me about contributing to a project she is working on. Anyone could chalk this up to coincidence but I had previously determined there is no such thing. I choose to look at these “interventions” like angels in my life feeling inspired to give me the little extra nudge a loving God knew I needed.
New Year’s resolutions can be overwhelming. It is easy to set many lofty goals with unrealistic deadlines. When the days drag into weeks and we are “in the trenches” of life, lofty goals become another issue entirely. When considering goals, I have decided to ask the following questions: What things are actually essential for me to focus my limited time and energy on? What do I want to do? After that, I have decided to take my ideas to a loving Heavenly Father. President Monson said this in January of 1973 to BYU students:
“There is no better time in all the world to make important choices than at the beginning of a new semester, and particularly at the beginning of a new year, for we literally become the product of our choices. Our choices determine our destiny.”
Our choices determine our destiny. This implies action. We can make choices by not deciding anything, but that becomes a choice in and of itself. This January, I am determined to take my destiny into my own hands, after consulting with my Heavenly Father. If I work with the desires and talents Heavenly Father has given me, and I have consulted with Him, how could I totally mess things up? I am picking resolutions that are things I can control, things that do not depend on another person’s agency, and a couple of things I desire. Are you a big resolution maker? Have you included prayer in finding out what your resolutions should be? I challenge you to consult Heavenly Father then let your choices determine your destiny.
Camille is happily married to her husband for almost 26 years now! Together, they are trying hard to survive raising their five kids. She has two adult children, two teenagers, and an 8-year-old. She has started her 18th year of homeschooling and is still trying to figure things out!
As a stay-at-home mom, Camille’s favorite things are reading books, electric blankets, writing, working on her “very little farm”, and dancing while doing the dishes. She needs to trademark her “mom dance” that the kids love to mock her over.
Camille is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is always wearing out her copy of the conference talks. When she is not in an apron or highlighting the latest book she is reading, Camille spends time taking kids to music lessons, debate tournaments, gymnastics classes, and wrestling competitions.
One of Camille’s greatest achievements is losing 75 pounds in the year 2020 and is on the way to releasing the last 25 pounds in 2021.
Camille currently resides in Utah, USA with her family.
You can connect with Camille on Instagram, Facebook, or on her Website.