Over the holidays, I debated over and over if I wanted to choose a word for 2016. I struggled to focus on it, and truthfully, I’m over the idea of resolutions and all of that. But, as I reflected back over the last few years, I realize that selecting one word each January (like ask in 2013 and 2015’s fight) helped guide my year and keep it in focus.
So, as I thought more about it the last few weeks, one word kept popping up over and over.
That word, and the word I’m choosing for 2016, is Drive. And if I had to be honest, it scares me a bit. Drive means I need to be focused, on the offensive, and ready to push forward. Part of my soul wants to disconnect and rest, but 2016 is not the year for it.
Help One Now has a lot of momentum. Thanks to our brilliant local leaders and our amazing tribe, we may actually may make more of an impact in the next year than in our entire history. Major projects are launching in 2016: a new medical clinic in Uganda, a community center in South Africa, new dorms for our kids at Yahve Shamma, a new village in Peru, and a big project and trip to Ethiopia to help keep families together. Oh, and we’re launching two new countries in 2016–Dominican Republic and the Congo.
As I write this, I’m currently on a plane to Haiti with a group of MLB players, and when I get back, we have a big gala in Raleigh with Jen Hatmaker. We had three amazing new board members just join us, and I have this little book coming out in September.
Years and years of hard work are all coming together in 2016. No doubt, we will need to drive the momentum and opportunity forward; thankfully, we have an amazing team and a group of investors who support our work.
Of course, I’m driving personal goals as well for my family. This year, we will purchase a home. Over the past four months, I’ve been fully focused on eating well and working out with my CrossFit community. And, my family is in key transition times in life; this summer, I will celebrate 20 years of marriage, my oldest daughter turns 16, and my youngest will start high school.
And sometime this year, it’s possible that I will start writing the next book.
You see, this is why I’ve avoided choosing a word. All of this scares me to death. Yet, I’m so humbled to be in this kind of position, to enjoy these kinds of opportunities and hopefully, to be part of a movement of people who fight to make the world better because we were willing to drive forward.
It’s going to take focus, hard work, and blood, sweat, and tears to drive it all forward. No doubt, I will take key seasons of rest to make sure I have the gas in the tank to reach the finish line.
I’m grateful for all the opportunities that 2016 is presenting, and thankfully I get to work with a group of amazing people. Together, we hope our drive will push us to do good, do it well and of course, do it together.
So let’s drive forward, day by day, to reach our goals, pursue our dreams, and see how God can use them to make an impact in the world.
#drive2016
