It's been months since I've posted. I debated whether to even bother with it. I'm pregnant, a mommy to an extremely active toddler, a wife and an adult college student. All of those combined make life feel really overwhelming at times. It's not really extreme busyness, but all of them combined mean that posting on a blog that isn't accomplishing a school assignment has fallen off of the radar for me.
I suppose that all of that led to what has become my One Word for 2016. 2015 was full of choices made by myself and with my husband that definitely lived up to my word/s for 2015. Recklessly Abandon. In one simple year with only the agreement to follow God wherever that phrase led I find that it's been a year filled with change and challenges for both myself personally and for our family.
Following God with Reckless Abandon means that you are challenged on whether you will do the things that do not make sense to anyone around you. For us it meant leaving the church we were part of and over the next few months joining our lives (however painful slowly it might seemed to have taken) to a church plant 30 minutes away because God says "that is where I want to grow you". It means reaching out to someone you've admired from a distance and risking rejection by asking "Will you mentor me?" It looks like starting school when it hardly makes sense as you are no where near being in the career field that this degree will qualify you for and it means saying "yes" to God when He says you are finished with the job that is helping pay some of the bills.
For the past two years, I have chosen one word to live out through the year. To be honest, the first time was largely driven by the fact the church I served at on staff decided to do a series on One Word and as part of the staff I felt a certain amount of pressure to perform and felt I should chose a word. I find it funny how God can take something that you do out of a sense of duty and make it something that redefines your life. That first year my word was Pieces. I don't think I will ever forget that year... It literally felt like my life fell apart. I lost the one job I had that made sense to me and felt like it was suppose to be in line with my calling. I experienced an isolating pregnancy and went into the end of 2014 depleted, alone and feeling extremely broken. Coming into 2015, I had a certain amount of trepidation at choosing another word, but this time the challenge came from a blogger and author I had come to love and respect so I decided I would once again try the word for a year.
Entering 2016, I once again wondered if I really wanted to chance letting a word define my year and my answer came as I listened to a song that had come to my attention over the past few months. Plumb's Exhale.
Exhale. It's a word that speaks of letting go. Getting rid of the toxic things that hang over our lives and moving toward the grace, freedom and love that God offers us. One of the things I have learned about myself is that as a relational introvert, I can have a tendency to hang on to relationships long after they have outlived their purpose in my life. What I'm finding in this season of my life is that I have less capacity for things so I am going into the New Year knowing I have to be intentional with my time, energy and resources. It means choosing wisely in what I hold on to and what I let go.
Exhale.
Let go.
Somehow I already expect 2016 to be painful in some ways, but I have also learned out of two years of words that proved painful that in our greatest pain, God is doing some of His most powerful healing in our lives. He is growing and stretching us because He knows what we are capable of becoming. We become the one's to halt our own growth when we let fear dictate our lives and decisions. What about you? Have you ever tried One Word for a year? Is this the year to try it? I'd love to hear if you do!
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