new year, new word
We have this New Year tradition, my friends and I, where we choose a word we hope will embody the upcoming year. It's shocking to me how long we've been doing this. We start mulling it over about the third week of December and our Christmas gatherings always include someone saying, "Start thinking about your word!" It's a good exercise -- one of reflection and anticipation. I'll catch you up from what I can remember.
2007 - Surprising This was the year I quit my first nursing job and didn't know what the heck I was going to do. I applied to be an intern with International Justice Mission, was rejected, and instead traveled to Afghanistan for a month. That year I started volunteering at Christ Community Health Services and eventually got hired. I met my refugee friends. It was the year when nothing went according to plan and I learned that's a very good thing. God's surprises are much more wonderful than my plans.
2008 - Growth Or something to that effect. I moved out on my own, went on my first date, and shared life with a crew of Burundians. I started growing up and growing into my own.
2009 - Celebrate This was the year when all of my close girlfriends read Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequiest and we were determined to sink our teeth into every day. And for the most part, I think I did. A quote from Shauna:
2010 - Refreshing I was driving home from Washington DC on January 1, 2010 with three of my best friends when this word hit. (We had cold-tangerined it up in DC for New Year's. Or hot-nectarined, as we preferred.) That year lived up to its word: my favorite vacation (ever) to Orcas Island, a trip to Afghanistan that made me feel alive again, teaching in my church. There were so many new experiences that brought in fresh air to the quarter of my life.I don’t want to wait anymore. I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another.
2011 - Quiet Oh, how I wanted this word to be true at the beginning of 2011. 2011 was quiet -- I believe I called it a quiet strangle. It was the year that taught me how to grieve. The year that taught me the presence of Christ in the very thick of suffering. It also taught me how to lay fallow...and while I still have a lot to learn concerning that, it was a start. I wouldn't trade 2011 for anything, but I was so glad when it was over.
2012 - Seek At the beginning of 2012, I was ready for newness. I had completed graduate school and thought I was ready for what was next. I wanted to seek God more than anything, to find Him and find what He had for me. Little did I know there was a lot of newness that needed to occur in my heart and within my perspective. This lead me to move...four blocks away and dig deeper roots in this city. I'm grateful.
And that brings me to 2013. My word for this year is Victory.
vic·to·ry
noun
1: the overcoming of an enemy or antagonist
2: achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties
Spirit of God, bring victory over my constant enemy...myself.
What about you? What's your word?
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