And my word of the year is...
Just kidding! Read on to find out!
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It is March 1, and I am finally writing my "word of the year" post! If that doesn't give you an idea of how hard the decision was, I am not sure what will!
Typically, I feel God leading me to a word late in the previous year. But the last year has been different in so many different ways. So why not this, too!?!? I had a few different words running around in my head, but none were THE word. And as much as I wanted a word, I didn't want to settle and I didn't want to pick a word just to pick a word. I wanted to have conversations with God about the year. I wanted Him to lead me to the word, just as He has faithfully done over the past 5 years of choosing a word for the year.
A few of the words I contemplated were: Abide, Sabbath, Rest, Joy, Closer... But none of the words were working for me. All good words, but just not what I felt in my heart was right for this year.
As I mentioned in my goal post, I want to focus on growing closer to God. I want to be in prayer more. I want to be in the Word more. I want to be more thankful. I want to have a deeper relationship with Him. And I want to be a light that shines for Jesus!
At the root of it all, I wanted a word that shows how being a Christian sets us apart. What makes us different from all the world offers? What do we have to offer others that the world doesn't offer them?
Last year, God taught me so much about peace. About what peace looks like in my life and how to pray for peace for others. How to live in peace even in the midst of 2020, a year where so many of us struggled.
A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Instagram and came across something that really impacted me. I follow this page called A Gilded Line. It is a company that makes hand-stamped jewelry (I bought my word of the year ring from them a few years back!). I came across this new bracelet and it said "Grace and Gratitude." When I saw that post, it struck a cord with me. It is not often I see those two words together, but there they were and it made so much sense to me.
Here is what it said in their post:
Been thinking a lot about how gratitude changes
perspective & gives you ease of offering grace. These words are such
good reminders to focus on the things that matter & make an actual
difference in people’s lives.
Look around, be grateful. Name the things out loud. See how easy grace rolls off your tongue.
These are two of the ways we live our lives differently than the world. Instead of always looking for the next best thing, we are called to be grateful for what we have now. Instead of getting back at people or being unkind, we are called to offer grace...just as Jesus offers us grace.
So instead of one word for the year, God has given me a theme.
Grace & Gratitude
Even before God gave me this theme for the year, I could see Him pointing me in this direction. Earlier in 2021, He showed me how I need to show grace...even when I don't want to. All the way back to October of 2020 when I bought a 5 year journal to use as a gratitude journal, He was pointing me to this. (Note to self: Don't get stuck on one word when God might be trying to show you more!)
I am excited to see how God uses these two words in my life this year. I have already felt how hard it can be, but I have also realized how powerful God's grace is to us, to me. In the midst of struggling to offer grace again and again, I am reminded that God offers me so much grace every day. And in being grateful for what God has already done, I pray that grace will more easily come from me in my interactions with others.
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(I will post some scripture and quotes on my theme for the year in another post!)
