The past four years have seemed like a whirlwind for me. Every year around this time I feel like I snapped my fingers and the year was almost over. For others, maybe you feel like the new year can’t arrive soon enough. Whether you have experienced more highs than lows or more lows than highs, we can all agree that the last few years have been a rollercoaster. That is exactly why you need a word of the year. Choosing a word or phrase helps to ground you and prepare you for what’s ahead.
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Finding Time To Reflect
God has been peeling me like an onion, continuing to show me the root of my thoughts and beliefs. It hasn’t been pleasant, but it has been necessary. As I often do, I like to spend the last three months of the year in a very reflective mood. This is typically the time that I also think forward. I ask myself, “Where am I going and where would I like to be?” Most importantly, I ask myself, “Where is God leading me?”
This is why I like to set the tone of my year with a word or phrase: sometimes both. I’m big on intentions. They empower us to evaluate our lives while directing the focus to our goals and desires. Think of your word or phrase as your target for the year. Whether you want to improve your health or travel more, you must choose your priorities and make a plan of execution to be successful.
Surrender
God continues to walk me through healing self-discovery. There has been a lot of learning and unlearning. He has been holding a mirror up to me while catching my tears in the process. Through it all He has loved me into laying down false identities while teaching me who I truly am. For 2023 I chose the word grounded. It was all about grounding myself in God and His Word. 2023 laid the foundation for where I am today. For 2024, I felt a pull to the word SURRENDER.
To surrender, you must let go. As a recovering perfectionist, this can be difficult for me. However, I have realized that my desire to control comes from a broken place of disappointment and fear. For years, I have tried to live up to an expectation that I nor God set for me. From that place, desperation and a false sense of self were birthed. With awareness and intention, I have been letting go. I have let go of who I thought I was and who I wished to become. I have surrendered every thought, desire, and dream to God. Even the ones that I am convinced are from Him. I have arrived at a place in my life where I don’t want to do anything outside of the Lord. Every thought, belief, goal, and dream, should be aligned with His will for my life. I don’t need to try to create perfection when I was created by perfection. So I choose to surrender.
What’s Your Word
I don’t know what this year has looked like for you or what you hope the next one to be. All I do know is there is a plan and purpose for your life. You are not here by accident. You are not random. I encourage you to surrender to the truth that there is so much more for you to do and experience. So begin with intention. Set the tone. Mediate on God’s Word and ask Him in prayer what your word for the new year is.
With Love,
Tamara
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