Looking Ahead

After today, our family only has one week of school left for this year. I'm not sure how we got here so quickly, but here we are anyway. The end of this school year feels significant, as both of my sons are moving into their senior years - one in high school, the other in college.  

When my older son graduated from high school in 2021, it was a pretty big year of transition for us. I left my ministry job at the same time that he was moving to college, and all of us were processing the changes in our home.  

It was a lot of transition, but we had done the preemptive work to try and make the whole season a little easier to navigate for all of us.  

The year before graduation, we named some of the significant life events that would happen that year and then determined what would be the most helpful in preparing for those changes.  

For me, this involved coaching and counseling as I got ready to leave the work that I loved to take a year of sabbatical. It also involved making changes to my calendar. I determined that there were particular months and weeks when I would have less emotional energy, so I added fewer things to my calendar during those times. I knew I would need time to be present to what was happening and not be overwhelmed by my schedule being too full.  

A year from now, we will navigate two graduations and future school and work steps. We will live a lot of life in the next 12 months, and at the same time, these 12 months will fly by, just as the last 12 have.  

My job as a home educator will be coming to an end this time next year. It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to walk this journey with my children. I had no idea this would be the path we would take, but I'm so thankful we were willing to give it a shot all those years ago.  

It will be exciting to reach this milestone of graduating our last student, and I know that the amount of emotional energy I will need over the next 12 months will be higher than in other years as we navigate a lot of lasts and many new firsts.  

As I look at my calendar over the next year, I will break it into two six-month segments - June to November and December to May. As I look at each six-month chunk of time, I will fill in events like trips, school events, work, senior pictures, graduations, holidays, etc. As I see where these dates fall on the calendar, it will help me navigate the weeks and avoid overfilling my schedule.  

This snapshot of the year acts as a scaffolding. Of course, there will be things that come up that can't be preemptively thought about but will have to be attended to in the moment. However, the scaffolding helps to determine what my calendar can realistically support.  

Sometimes, we forget to be intentional about what makes it onto our calendar, and we say yes to every request. And sometimes we look at our calendar and think, sure I have an hour for ________, but we forget to consider that it isn't just an hour we are blocking off.  

Consider a meeting at work. You get a calendar invite for a one-hour meeting, which you add to your calendar. However, you are expected to give a presentation during that meeting, so now you must block out additional time on your calendar to do the required prep work. Depending on what is expected, that presentation might take 15 minutes or 15 hours to prepare, and how this looks on your calendar changes significantly depending on the expectation.  

When I think about graduation, I know I can't schedule any meetings or events that week outside of whatever is planned for graduation. Based on my knowledge of our school calendar the last several years, it is likely that my sons will both graduate within the same week. For me, I know that the month leading up to these events will be emotional, so I will preemptively plan not to fill that month - I will plan for it to be as restful as possible.  

This type of preemptive planning works for me. It helps me remain grounded in my body and not get worn out in the busier seasons. Something different might work for you, and that's great.  

I wonder what is on the horizon for you? Are you expecting a baby? Changing jobs? Graduating a student? Caring for your parents? Getting married? Going back to school? Retiring? 

What would it look like for you to consider your next six months and notice the spaces that will require more of you mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually? What would it feel like to permit yourself to adapt your calendar to create space for the things you know are coming?  

I try to pay attention to these details because when I don't, I get worn out. I become weary. I forget to eat well and move my body. I forget to rest. I lose focus and feel disconnected from life. I waste more time scrolling and get distracted when I talk to Jesus.  

But when I am intentional with my schedule, I am more likely to experience rest and peace in every area. I'm better able to remain in the moment, unhurried, and present to my life and the voice of the Holy Spirit.  


~  Melissa