2014: My One Word

It's a bit of a miracle that each year I manage to nail down "One Word" at all, really.

Normally I am a person of many words. I have been told by exactly two people that I am what they call a "social buffer"- the kind of extra person you might want around in a potentially awkward situation because I will talk to just about anybody. I'm chatty. It is what it is. I suppose there are worse ways to be, right?

So as I've shared with you here,  for the past few years I have chosen one word as a sort of theme for the year. I have never been one to make New Year's resolutions. The thought of a "resolution" feels somehow oppressive to me. I don't like the idea of a pass or fail.

Yet for whatever reason, I find the idea of choosing one word to be exciting rather than burdensome. Some might say it's corny, but the idea resonates with me. I think there's something deeply honest about choosing just one word. If I take a real and unfiltered look at my heart, where am I right now? It forces me to be truthful, to be quiet, and to hear what God is speaking into my life, as opposed to the constant chatter I tend to throw at Him.

 The cool thing about having one word, is that it doesn't need to be meaningful to anyone but me. There are no rules. It can be a thought, an action, an emotion...it's personal.
 I use it throughout the year as a compass, a gauge, a filter for choices I make, a springboard for action, a constant conversation piece with God.

 

 

Last year my word was UNHINDERED.

Looking back, there were quite a few things I felt God yearning for me to let go of, to cast off. Things in my everyday life that I didn't realize were hindering me.  I can see the areas where I resisted and struggled with this, and also the areas where I overcame. Some changes were tangible but some were internal. It was a lovely and liberating journey.  

While I don't have a nice tidy list for you of exact accomplishments I made last year, I do see that my One Word helped me to check in with myself and with God on a regular basis- and it often changed the way I approached my day. 

 I found that when I did check in with myself throughout the year on where I honestly stood with my one word, I was encouraged and moved and stirred up because I felt God being my help.
 It felt positive and never negative. I love that this is often how God works. He convicts but never condemns. I felt His patience in my stagnancy, His joy in my moments of triumph, and His sorrow over my moments of stubbornness and defeat. I felt HIM, and no matter where you are, that is better than feeling alone.

 

This year my word is DILIGENT.

 "Having or showing care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties. Marked by steady, careful, painstaking effort. Someone who works hard and carefully.

Synonyms:

Industrious, hard working, assiduous, particular, careful, thorough, earnest, painstaking, meticulous, rigorous, conscientious.

Middle English: via Old French from Latin 'diligens'; from 'diligere' which means
 "love, take delight in"!

 

What a beautiful thing!

To take delight in that which you work carefully and intentionally at. Immediately I think of my children. While they are not the only thing I work at, they are certainly the most important at this point in my life. How easy it can be to just coast some days, to let life happen. But what a difference being diligent can make. When I read the definition, it pierced me, like a truth always does.

 Like a nail driven in and through, sending splinters all across my heart.

 

 This year I feel that that Lord wants diligence of me and for me- as a mother of littles, as a wife, as a daughter, as a friend...and likely in many ways I have yet to discover.

Last year for me was about casting off and letting go.  This year is more about putting on. Taking action. Taking care. Doing what I feel in my heart to be right. Making myself available. Being intentional. Being thankful and aware and earnest in the day to day.

Showing up.

I am excited and a little bit curious to see the paths this year will lead me down. There are a lot of really good things happening and a lot of really difficult things happening at the same time in life right now. Health and joy and hope can seem quite precarious at moments.
But God is still good.
 And good things often come through the hard things. You just have to look for them.