Simple Words, Eternal Lessons

You may have heard of a fairly recent tradition of picking a word for the new year instead of making a New Year’s resolution. The idea is to choose a particular word to focus on for the year and make application to your life in lieu of making a New Year’s resolution that we often break by Spring.

The first time I heard of this was in 2010. I chose the word SHINE. I worked as a receptionist for the school where my sons attended. Daily I welcomed both new and familiar faces. It was my desire to SHINE the light of Jesus in my daily interactions with all I came into contact with and in every situation of my life. In August of that year, we lost our 20 year old son. Amidst the grief, I determined that SHINE would continued to be my word.  As I traversed this path of sorrow and loss, my perspective of that word took on a whole new “light!”

Since then, every year I have put a lot of thought into choosing my word, yet looking back, I can see that each word was actually chosen FOR me.  I say, chosen “for” me because some years I have tried to pick my own word, but the Holy Spirit had other plans for me. He knew the lessons I needed to prepare me for the year(s) ahead. Each year has been full of lessons, giving me a better perspective of the spiritual meaning of each word, its application in my life,  and building upon the previous word precept upon precept.

One year in particular I can remember standing at the kitchen sink on New Year’s Eve, thinking about the word I wanted to focus on in the coming year. “Prayer,” I thought. It has always been somewhat ambiguous to me. I prayed often, yet wanted to understand it better. What should I really ask for? How do I pray God’s will while casting my cares? How does God really use my prayers in the lives of others? Do I move Him or does He move me? I hoped to get answers to these questions and more, but it would not be this particular year.

As I pondered these thoughts, I felt the Holy Spirit speak into my heart… “Endurance.”

What? No, not that! That’s scary! The year before that was DISCIPLINE. That year, I lost almost 50 lbs, having learned the discipline of proper eating and exercise. It was a good year; satisfying but hard. But what will a year of ENDURANCE look like?!

“Endurance.”

As you might guess, the lessons came flooding in. By February,  my sister-n-law, who had been caring for her mother, suddenly died from a heart attack. We opened our hearts and our home for my husband’s mother to come live with us. She was bedridden from a stroke she experienced a few years prior. Our adult niece moved in to help us care for her. Our son and daughter-in-law also moved in with their family, so he could get his college degree. By the end of that year we had gone from a household of two to a household of seven with another baby on the way (our son and his wife, not us!)

The next couple of years were filled with a lot of traveling, serving, family struggles, and personal illness. God was faithful to meet me in every situation and fill me with strength for each day. Lessons of ENDURANCE were built upon the previous year’s of DISCIPLINE, QUIET-PEACE, TRUST, and SHINE which laid the foundation I needed to keep my eyes on God – thus PERSPECTIVE became my word for 2017.

Again, it was February when my word came to me. As I was entering another season of change, unfathomable family issues surfaced. As my world was being shaken to its core, I learned that God uses ALL things for my good, even the things that seem impossible. I learned that keeping my eyes on Jesus and viewing things from His perspective are imperative to living a victorious Christian life. I learned that by keeping a godly perspective during trials –especially during trials I can ENDURE through DISCIPLINE, I can have a QUIET-PEACE as I TRUST in God’s good character, and my faith can SHINE through obedience. PERSPECTIVE will be a word that will continually be my daily focus. I believe it is the foundation on which all else lies.

Last year, the word SURRENDER  was put on my heart. God showed me how I cling so defiantly to my own desires and dreams over willingly surrendering my comfort for kingdom purposes. To SURRENDER to God fully, one must see and TRUST His PERSPECTIVE. I had to trust in God’s good character even if things didn’t “look” good, even in the darkness. I had to willingly SURRENDER my pain for the good of others. I had to be willing to be broken for others to be healed. My spiritual heart wanted to be used but my broken, physical heart resisted.

In February of that year, Charlie, our 3-year-old grandson, went to sleep in his bed and awoke in the arms of Jesus. My heart, just beginning to heal from the year prior, was again shattered to bits. In both anger and frustration I pondered, “How… how, can this be? How can I trust a God who would allow such horror into one family? Didn’t He love me?” For months I cried out to the Lord for understanding. Patiently and lovingly He met me where I was, answering me through Bible study, sermons, songs, and scripture, each time pointing me to my need to surrender myself for His purposes just as Jesus surrendered all for me.

For a couple of years now, I’ve been very interested in the Psalms. My husband, Chris, got me three books last year on this very topic, including “The Songs of Jesus” by Tim Keller and a journaling Psalter where I can draw the images from my mind’s eye onto the page beside the psalm I am reading (Being a picture person, I really enjoy this!). The third book by Lydia Brownback called, “Sing a New Song,” will be my focus this year, to journal new songs and prayers based on the psalm I’m reading.

As I thought about working through this book, having pondered and prayed over what the Lord may want me to focus on in 2019, the word PRAISE seems to fit. Our family, like so many others, has walked through several years of adversity. We’ve learned much about ourselves and the faithfulness of God, and have experienced God in ways we never would have been able to but through adversity. I want to focus on what God is doing in the midst of our trials, in the midst of our celebrations, and in the midst of the seemingly mundane. I want to purposefully and joyfully praise Him for and in all things.

I’m eager to focus on PRAISING our good, good Father for who He is, for what He does in me, for me, through me, and for others, and for how He acts on my behalf in love and faithfulness! It is my prayer that I will embrace my word and the lessons it brings with the confidence born from past experience, that whatever lies ahead, my God goes before me; He hems me in before and behind. God is a faithful, loving, and purposeful tutor, and I look forward to the blessing of whatever lessons He has for me this year.

Have you chosen a word to focus on for 2019? What will it be? How will it help you in Keeping Perspective?