It happens every year — but this year was a little different.
I used to think the idea of choosing a single word to direct your entire year was silly. But for the past 5+ years I’ve given in, and now I actually look forward to it.
Every December I start getting the thought in the back of my mind “I wonder what it’s going to be?? What will God gently nudge me toward? I don’t want to force it… I want to be open… But I’m also slightly terrified.” (One year my word ended up being BRAVE, and I found myself making some big steps in my life. And in 2020 my word was CONNECT… Yeah.)
And so — as always — I started casually reading through comments on posts in Facebook groups I’m part of, where someone asks “What’s your word or phrase for the year?” I waited with eager, uncertain, excited anticipation.
Finally I felt the first belly-pull (you know that feeling?), when someone said “abiding beauty”. I sat with it, rolled it around, then scrolled the rest of the comments. People had lots of other good words, but that phrase stuck with me. Over the next few weeks I continued to ponder, wondering if it was the word “abide” or “beauty” that wouldn’t let me go.
And then something happened that never has in all my years of choosing a word — I was struck by another one.
This time it was the word “adventure”. Someone said it in a comment on another one-word post, and it too made my heart jump. My oldest and I are each reading The Lord of the Rings (her for the first time, me for the third), and I was reminded of Bilbo’s famous line/scene in The Hobbit: “I’m going on an adventure!!!”
I tried to think of what these words had in common, and the best I could come up with was they both involve noticing — noticing and appreciating beauty, and noticing the opportunity for adventure and following through. But “notice” didn’t give me the leap that the other words continued to do.
Finally I sat down in our quiet, empty church sanctuary on a day I was working all alone over Christmas break, and I had a heart-to-heart with God. It felt silly to ask for clarity on something like a one-word, but he knows how important words are to me in the work I do. He didn’t answer my question, but I did leave feeling like I was on the right track.
And then, one night during the first few days of January, I was just about asleep when a song popped into my mind… and suddenly I was wide awake.
All this pain, I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
“Beautiful Things” by Michael & Lisa Gungor ©2009
I wonder if my life could really change, at all
All this earth, could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come out from this ground, at all?
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
All around, hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in you
You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
So here’s where I’ve landed for 2022: I think God is going to take me on an adventure this year, but I need to just go along for that ride — I will be actively pursuing BEAUTY.
I’ll create beautiful spaces in my home, beautiful food, and a beautiful garden (not just functional). My social media feeds need to be full of beauty to encourage others. I will notice beauty in nature, art, and music. And yes, as this is my last year in my 30’s, I’ll consider what this means for my own beauty too.
Whew. It took awhile to get there, but I’m grateful to have finally landed and now move forward with eyes wide open. And I’m eagerly and anxiously anticipating what beautiful things God will create out of this dusty ground…
Did you choose a word for this year? Or have you in years past?
(Here are my previous year’s words.)
UPDATE LATE 2022: What a ride this year has been! Beauty made a few appearances, but that ADVENTURE word… whew! That was ultimately my word this year. Read the followup and look ahead to 2023 here.
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:4
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