Last night I made a vision board for 2015. This is the second year that a group of women got together to tackle this crafty project. Old magazines, modge podge, scissors and a canvas board were all we needed to put down our dreams and desires for the coming year. We clipped away happily, finding pictures and phrases that had meaning to us. The goal was to not to over think this whole process. If the picture, color or words appealed to us we placed it in a pile to arrange on our boards. Some boards were orderly and neat. My vision board was a messy collage, but it spoke to me. Last year I hung my board in my closet and I will have to say that it was an encouragement to remind me of areas that I consider important.

Vision boards have been around for awhile. Organizations could not stay afloat if they didn’t have some kind of vision statement, whether it is a Fortune 500 company or a small, local business. Churches and ministries also have to know why they exist. As a 20+ year old, working for a college ministry, I made my first vision board. There was no fancy canvas, only poster board. Sticky white dots and magic markers helped create a picture of what the campus ministry would look like for the coming school year. Again, the visual picture was helpful, even if all the dots did not get filled in.

Vision is something that we all want and need. King Solomon in the Proverbs states:

“Where there is no vision the people perish: but he that keeps the the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

We all like to know where we are going. There is nothing more frustrating than to feel like you are driving in a car some place new and you keep passing the same landmark time and time again. A GPS has solved some of these problems and we only wish that they worked in other matters of our lives.

Most of my life I have had specific vision. It helped to know what I needed to do each day. There were other times I felt like I was going round and round in a circle. Sure, I had lists for the week, the day and even for the next hour. It felt good when I could mark the list off, but I often felt frustrated when I had to face the same long list the next day. My specific goals and vision had been thrown off track.

There were periods in the past year where I had very limited vision. The few steps in front of me were the only light and direction given. It was often scary and lonely. I would never have had chosen to live this way, but it was an important lesson. These times gave me a big picture of what vision and goals need to look like in my life. Short glimpses of the future made me completely dependent on the Lord. It made me more aware of hearing and seeing what God was saying in the moment, rather than just a long term goal. This lesson has not left me. Goals, resolutions and vision statements are good, but in my life they are to be held lightly and with an open hand. Holding my vision for life too closely makes it hard for me to see the big picture. It is a different vision walk.

Today, I will hang my new vision board in its proper place. It has pictures that remind me of the peace that God wants to give me. Others reflect the importance of my marriage, children, grandchild, other family members and friends. Several pictures and phrases remind me of this important walk of faith and the places that God might want to fill in my life. Most of the board is filled with pictures and phrases that reflect a big picture of life. I’ll let God fill in the smaller pieces to complete His vision for me!