Well, here we are around the corner from 2022! It’s hard to believe that another year has passed but here we are. I was inspired by looking at a friends lessons from the past year and thought I would do the same.

So, here is my list of what I have learned this year – I hope it might be as helpful to you as it was to me writing it.

• Always communicate the full picture – I’ve learnt this over and over again this year. Too often I’ve presumed what someone does or doesn’t know about a decision or comment I have made, ended up communicating it ineffectively, and then had to do a lot of clear up afterwards. Initially I got frustrated at people not understanding or trusting me……but I’ve realised it’s my job to be as clear as I can so they don’t have to work hard to hear it. It also helps them to build trust in your decision making and direction.
• My experience of a situation is not everyone’s – I have become so accustomed to seeing the world through my own lens and from that place I have made sweeping statements about how everyone should feel and react. What I’m learning is that my view isn’t necessarily right, shared by others, or even close to what others are processing. I’m learning to commute with fewer sweeping statements and instead offer ‘personal’ views which are accompanied by questions to learn more of others views.
• Don’t take it personally – I learn this one every year but in a season of so many opinions and reactions I’ve had to learn it on a new level. I’ve had a few occasions where I have offended people this year and/or have had people blow up with me. It’s not that I’m perfect, there have absolutely been times where I got it wrong, but what I’ve realised is that most of their annoyance isn’t really about me but I simply was the person, leader, block, that ignited things that were already at play. This one may be the hardest one to learn though and I do have to always be open to the fact it could all be about me!
• We’re always in transition – I was told this by a leader a while ago and it had helped me as I have wandered through this year. There is something in us that seeks being settled and having everything in its place. What I’ve learnt is that a life that follows Jesus, and especially one that is leading others at the same time, is never settled. We will always be moving from something and to somewhere, if that isn’t physically then certainly emotionally. Understanding and accepting that helps to make those transitions much more exciting rather than threatening.
• Keep connected even when you don’t want to – I’m an introvert and I love time on my own. It’s not that I don’t love people but I just don’t start a day by thinking ‘who can I hang out with?’ I think left to my own devices I could end up cutting myself off all too easily but I know the damage that would do to me. This year I have chosen to push into connection more than ever, both in friendships and in forming other newer connections in my day to day. The later has been tough for me but I have seen the rewards of it, and I know it’s something I need to continue to move into.
• Leaning with hope is better than being right – I’ve seen a lot of cynicism this year, particularly around media, politics etc. and I have watched how it has seeped into our everyday lives, into our churches and it makes me sad. Often we are scared of being naive or looking uneducated about ‘what really goes on’ so a healthy dose of cynicism seems to keep us away from that but I have decided this year that I would rather look silly or wrong than being cynical. When I hear a decision from a leader or organisation I will start by thinking that it is a decision that has been made from a good place for good reasons whether I agree with it or not. Starting with hope and belief that people are good stops my heart from shrinking, even if I end up being completely wrong and uneducated.
• Look for the fruit – Jesus already nailed this one but it is so true. As I have watched how we have all navigated the past number of years I don’t look for those who have amassed the most knowledge, grown the biggest churches, or who have the bigger online followings. I look for those who look more like Jesus today than they did when it started. I want to be around those people, I want to hang with them!

2022, let’s be having you!