… that’s the word I chose for 2025. And I really thought I was. With God on my side, how could I be stopped?

On January 3^rd I had back surgery, with a (truly) miraculous result. I was pain free for the first time in nearly a year, and the joy was almost overwhelming. I’d cleared THREE MONTHS for surgery recovery, and suddenly I had this huge gift of time.

So naturally I started making plans to go full steam ahead on a new project I’m very excited about, and quickly began to fill that calendar back up.

On January 10^th I planned to write an article about being “unstoppable.” I did my homework, found some cool stuff, made my notes and I was ready.

Something interrupted me that day – I forget what but I am highly distractable so it’s not an unusual occurrence. So I left this sitting on my screen with every intention of getting right back to it on Monday.

But instead, I was up wandering in the night and at about 2am Sunday morning I lost my balance (also normal) and fell backwards to the floor, landing on a wooden box and doing damage to ribs in my back and my right wrist.

I have to be honest and say it’s some of (if not THE) worst pain I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve been totally out of commission until the last few days. I think I’ve turned the corner now but it is going to be a slooooow process and I must be patient.

Also honest: I lost track of my joy. I felt discouraged and frustrated, and deeply disappointed. I was full speed ahead for that one week … and I guess that’s all it took for me to get way out ahead of God.

I made my plans, I set up interviews, I edited some articles I’d received. I moved forward.  

Do you see that? I, I, I, I – ugh.

Lest you misunderstand me, I do NOT think God knocked me down in the middle of the night to teach me a lesson. That’s not how He works, at all. However, I spent the next two weeks in a pit of despair and self-focus, watching all my plans crumbling before my eyes.

Until finally, FINALLY! This dawned on me:

I am most certainly stoppable. God is not.

If I want to move forward into this year of “unstoppability” I need to stop. Stop making plans that are my own. Stop forging ahead if it’s time to wait. Most of all, I must stop thinking that I’m unstoppable.

Once all that “I” stuff is out of the way, I am reduced to a place of peaceful surrender and humility, ready to listen and move forward however and whenever HE says to move. But not until then.

This quote by C.H. Spurgeon pretty much sums it all up:

This. This is the ONLY way that I am unstoppable, in the hands of the One who knows best.

I have officially surrendered my own plans, and even though I really thought they were good – even great – plans, they are irrelevant now. These coming days will unfold in one of two ways:

1. Me continuing to feel sorry for myself because I didn’t get my way, OR
2. Me living in the simplicity of surrender, trusting that whatever comes my way is God-given and therefore best.

Isaiah 55:9 says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your  ways my ways, declares the Lord.”

Then He promises this: “My word … shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (v. 11)

I must trust that His purposes for and through me will be accomplished, and my only job is to reject my own plans in favor of His.

The word for 2025, then? Still UNSTOPPABLE … as a listener and as a follower, His purposes WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED, my hand in His.

Did you choose a word or set goals for this year? How’s it going so far?

Love,

~Angie

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Angie Clayton Author|Speaker|Storyteller

Angie Clayton is an author, speaker and editor who has a passion for connecting with the hurting. She is a storyteller, and her writing is rich with diversity. On her blog, Framing the Days, Angie shares with you the joys and beauty of both the mountain tops and the valleys of her life and the lives of those around her. Her book, “Peering into the Tunnel: An Outsider’s Look into Grief,” is a collection of real stories, as well as helpful suggestions to best serve someone who is grieving.

Angie is a long-time Bible teacher who is passionate about connecting with younger generations, and engaging with the hurting. She spends much of her time doing life one-on-one with women. Her speaking engagements include numerous in-person, radio and podcast appearances on many topics, including Grief, Grandparenting, chronic illness, and life after Retirement.

Achievements:

Angie graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in Accounting and Business Administration, followed by her CPA certification

Personal Interests:

Angie and Greg, married for 36 years now, live in the Kansas City area, and they have two children and four grandchildren. Angie enjoys spending time with the grandkids, reading, puzzles and amateur photography. She is passionate about walking out life’s storms with those around her.

Contribution to the Community:

Angie and her husband were foster parents for a number of years. She volunteered for more than a decade at Camp CUMCITO (City Union Mission’s Camp in the Ozarks), which serves hundreds of low-income kids, primarily from urban KC.

Angie was recognized as “Kindest Kansas Citian” in 2003 for her work with children.

Fun Fact:

Angie homeschooled her kids while they were in high school, which was no easy feat!