Every year for the past five years or so, I’ve chosen a word to represent the coming year. Last year, my word was New. I had prayed a lot about what my word for the year should be, and I felt God saying “new” over and over. Looking back, I can see all the ways “new” fit.
After living apart for a year and going through some struggles, my marriage became new in 2016. We moved twice that year — once to Missouri and then to Tennessee — new areas to explore, new homes to make our own, new people to meet.
We experienced loss last year, but we also got pregnant again and have got to see all the “new” that comes with growing a baby.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. – Isaiah 43:19
We experienced the wilderness and the wasteland at the beginning of 2016, but God gave us something new. He made a way for us.
My Word for 2017
For the past few weeks, I’ve been asking God to show me what my word for 2017 should be. And to be totally honest, I wasn’t hearing anything or getting any feelings. There were no signs. I had no idea what my word should be. One day, I asked Travis to just start naming words for me. I wanted to see if any of them stuck out.
“Encourage, life, new, young, old, diaper …” he began spouting off random words. And then he said it. A word that stuck out to me enough that I didn’t hear the rest of the words he was saying. I looked up the definition and the synonyms and it seemed like the perfect fit.
Beginning.
One of the synonyms is birth. I mean, come on — how perfect is that? This year is going to be the beginning of so many things, but more than anything a family of three. The beginning of parenthood. I’m excited to see what else it will be the beginning of.
Update: After I wrote this post, the very next morning I checked my Instagram feed — just as I do every morning — and I saw two separate posts from one of my favorite authors, Sara Hagerty. Both of her posts said, “You are the God of new beginnings.” To me, it was confirmation that this is my word for 2017.
What is your word for 2017?
I had never picked a Word of the Year until 2016, when I suddenly thought it should be Courage. I had some new beginnings last year, had to stick with some things that were challenging for me, and needed to be open to new possibilities as the year went along. It seemed helpful all year. A few weeks ago I thought that maybe 2017 should be Color. That’s odd for me, because I tend to prefer virtues or aspirations, but it sort of stuck. I mean it in the sense of seeing with new eyes and choosing to accept the bright and varied ways God opens new and unforeseen paths for us, as opposed to being stuck in the familiar, worn out ways that become stale and colorless.
I would never think of the word “color” either, but I love the meaning behind it! Happy New Year Kathryn! I hope this year is better for you than you could have even imagined!
I have to say, though, that Diaper might be the best new-dad suggestion ever. 🙂
Haha! True!