What’s your word?
Looking back on last January, remember when 2020 was anticipated to be “the year of clarity?”
We were all going to see with “2020 vision...”
And with the rollercoaster of a year that 2020 gave us, there was a lot of hope in the final weeks of the year as we geared up for a year that most definitely would be better than 2020. And 2021 will be, for sure…RIGHT?
Now while I’m an extremely optimistic person, and love the idea of starting off this new year with a total reset, 2021 has had a lot of pressure riding on its shoulders. And unfortunately, as we are all well aware, Covid didn’t just disappear when the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve. The vaccine may give us a lot of hope, but we still have a long road ahead until life looks “normal” again.
As my family and I waited for our New Years Eve dinner to be delivered for our mini stay-at-home party, complete with Twister, party lights and confetti, I got a call that I had been exposed to someone who tested positive for Covid. Any hope we were feeling towards life getting back to normal in the new year quickly faded while the party light flashed and my toddlers waited for the “party” to begin. We tried our best to put aside all thoughts of concern to celebrate with our daughters. And after they were fast asleep, my wife and I rang in the new year searching for rapid Covid testing sites that would be open on New Years Day. With so many unknowns, the last thing I wanted was to expose my family.
I’m sharing this story with you because this was such a powerful reminder to me that although I am eager for the start of a new year, and hopeful it will be much better than last year, the uncertainty we’ve been facing for almost a year now really won’t be going away anytime soon.
Thankfully, as a follower of Jesus, I know that real and lasting hope isn’t found in a date on the calendar, a vaccine, or life going back to “normal.”
Even when it does, life is still going to happen.
Illness is still going to come.
Heartbreak and pain are a part of this world we live in.
And as the new year approached, with all of these thoughts going through my mind, it was time for me to decide on my New Year’s Resolution. We had a guest pastor at Eastside several years ago share an idea that I’ve made a habit.
In preparation for the New Year, for the past several years I’ve asked God to reveal to me the one word that would be my spiritual “resolution” for the year, then I focus my prayers around that word.
And I’ve found this to have made such a bigger impact on my life than any fitness goals or healthy eating plans that fizzled out before the end of the month. And the beautiful part about this has been that each year, a one-word narrative has been written of how God is moving in my life.
— Surrender
— Rest
— Grace
— Calm
— Healing
My words for the past five years also tell the story of my healing journey (spiritual/emotional/physical) and how these areas in our lives are so tightly intertwined. To truly find lasting healing, I needed to first let go of all control and fully surrender the outcome to Him. Then I would spend the next year resting in His presence, followed by learning to show others and MYSELF grace, experiencing His calming presence in my life, and praying for healing - for myself and for those that God entrusted me to have some sort of influence with.
So this year, with so much uncertainty still in our midst, I’ve decided my word will actually be two words -
“Lead Me.”
Proverbs 16:9 says, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.” It took me several years to really grasp how these words can impact my daily life. These years of sanctification have brought me to this point in my life where I’m not only fully surrendered but am freed from the grip that chronic pain had on my life for nearly 15 years. I’m eager and ready to ask God to “Lead Me” at the beginning and throughout each and every day. And I’m praying that these posts are Spirit-led. God knows that I never had a desire to write, but HE has been writing this story in me that I can’t wait to share with you.
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If you’re suffering personally with any type of physical pain, I pray you’ll stick with me. Subscribe to my posts - and then hopefully read them too! :) If you’re eager to know more about this unconventional treatment of chronic pain that helped me, I’d suggest you check out a book that was foundational to my healing journey - The Mind Body Prescription. And if you haven’t listened to it yet, check out this podcast interview I did that shares a recap of the approach to how someone named “incurable” found healing.
Stay Tuned and God Bless.
