“Invite The Good In.”  That’s my phrase for 2023. 

When I say this, I picture a Sunday afternoon. It’s quiet, calm, and sunny. I’m standing on my porch, talking with a friend. And it’s one thing to have a nice conversation right there, on the porch. But it’s another thing to invite them inside: “Come in. Make yourself comfortable.”

Welcome vs Invite

At one point I thought my phrase for the year would be “Welcome The Good In.” There’s a nice warm homey feeling with “welcome.” It’s “make yourself at home, I have a place for you.” 

But there’s also a passive element to it. Welcoming someone home is when they’ve already taken the journey. They’re already at your door, standing on your porch. 

But to invite someone, that’s something more.

To invite is to put yourself out there. It’s saying, “I want you here. Would you like to join me?” It’s not being attached to the outcome. And it’s also a courage and vulnerability to say how you feel, to ask for what you want.

There’s a chance they’ll say no. But you ask anyway.

“Inviting the good” is open arms. It’s recognizing that the good has a place here, and reserving that space.

I invited hardship for so long

For the longest time, I invited hardship into my life. I got so good at coping with difficulty that I didn’t bother looking for the good anymore. I might have even pushed it away if it came too close. It was foreign and not to be trusted.

At some of the most outwardly successful and “happy” times of my life, I’ve felt like a total mess, totally uncomfortable and out of my element.

It’s as if I craved instability, chaos, challenge, pain. Because it was so familiar.

These days, my life looks a lot more like that calm Sunday afternoon. It’s quiet, peaceful. I don’t have this constant state of drama and tension. It’s really nice. 

But there’s still this push I can feel inside when I imagine really great things for my life and my future. It’s uncomfortable. It makes me cringe a little. Though not near what it used to be, there’s still some part of me that wants to push it away. 

And I don’t want to live like that anymore.

Can’t control what will happen

I want to invite the good. I want to have a space reserved just for it. I want to let it know that it’s welcome here. And not just welcome, but invited.  

That’s my focus for 2023.

I can’t tell you what will happen, what good will or won’t come. But I can control being in a state where I’m open and ready to receive it. My arms are wide to it for maybe the first time in my life, and it feels good. 

Or maybe the good I’m inviting is already here, in me?

Either way, I’m excited to find out.