We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called “Opportunity” and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
Edith L. Pierce
I love the fresh start of a new year. The exciting opportunities full of potential - I call it God’s adventure waiting for me.
I will spend part of today prayerfully rereading my journal entries from 2012, summarizing highlights (events, quotes, images, experiences, verses, prayers).
Then I will write out my hopes and dreams and what I think I hear as God’s invitations for the coming year.
When I revisit this list in 12 months, I always am surprised. Amazed at what God spoke to me in January that threaded its presence throughout the year. This process reminds once again to let go of the expectations I thought I had written so beautifully and perfected that never blossomed. After all God is in charge not me. And always surprised by God’s gifts. That floors me every year - how I, looking back, see His Hand upon me when at the time I thought I was abandoned, lost and forgotten.
January is the month of “Janus.” Janus was the Roman god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions – a good image of this first month of the year. One face looks back on the year gone and the other looks forward to the new and uncertain one ahead.January is a reflective month – an opportunity to look back at the year behind us – letting go of our regrets and celebrating our joys, then we look forward also into the coming months. Many of us make well-meaning resolutions and hope we can achieve at least some of them.
Some years I do find one word to guide the coming months. Often I find two ore three. Sometimes none. In 2012, I thought my words for the year were going to be: becoming, living gratefully and almost as an after thought: the word wait.
WAIT - that word wove its tentacles throughout my thoughts, prayers and experiences all year. The year was bathed with discernment and wandering into new unknown spiritual terrain with God and where I wanted to know the clear path and was ready to take off - God has me sitting at His feet, listening and waiting. A year of Mary, not Martha for my soul.
I heard 2013’s word the first time in a most unusual way for me: in a dream. I am not one to remember dreams so when it came to me in this way I knew to pray about it and it seemed to resonate and linger so I kept it. Or should I say it chose me?
The word? STRETCH.
There are some fun and interesting web resources on finding a word of the year:
One word 365 is a whole web site dedicated to this topic:
Thanks to Melanie at Only a Breath - she will make a button for your blog with your word. See mine above. Thanks Melanie!
Christine at Abbey of the Hearts is offering a free 12 day mini retreat to help you find your word.
Chris Brogan wrote a wonderful blog post just this morning on how he choses three words and works them into his year. His word choice is fascinating.
Kim Jackson shares her ideas on this guest post about consecrating your calendar for God. A new idea I am going to do this year.
Chris Brogan wrote a wonderful blog post just this morning on how he choses three words and works them into his year. His word choice is fascinating.
Kim Jackson shares her ideas on this guest post about consecrating your calendar for God. A new idea I am going to do this year.
Whether you chose a word or two or not - taking the time to reflect on the past year, harvest its lessons and plant seeds for the coming season is a worthwhile discipline.
And now let us welcome the New Year
Full of things that have never been.
---Rainer Maria Rilke
How about you? Do you chose a word? What has 2012 taught you? How will you grow in 2013?