New Beginnings
I love the fresh start of a new year. The exciting opportunities full of potential – I call it God’s adventure waiting for me.
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called “Opportunity” and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
Edith L. Pierce
I will spend part of today prayerfully rereading my journal entries from 2012, summarizing highlights (events, quotes, images, experiences, verses, prayers). Ahh, new beginnings.
Then I will write out my hopes and dreams and what I think I hear as God’s invitations for the coming year.
When I revisit this list in 12 months, I always am surprised. Amazed at what God spoke to me in January that threaded its presence throughout the year. This process reminds once again to let go of the expectations I thought I had written so beautifully and perfected that never blossomed. After all God is in charge not me. And always surprised by God’s gifts. That floors me every year – how I, looking back, see His Hand upon me when at the time I thought I was abandoned, lost and forgotten.
January is the month of “Janus.” Janus was the Roman god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions – a good image of this first month of the year. One face looks back on the year gone and the other looks forward to the new and uncertain one ahead. Still a time of new beginnings.
January is a reflective month – an opportunity to look back at the year behind us – letting go of our regrets and celebrating our joys, then we look forward also into the coming months. Many of us make well-meaning resolutions and hope we can achieve at least some of them. Many of us love these new beginnings.
Some years I do find one word to guide the coming months. Often I find two ore three. Sometimes none. In 2012, I thought my words for the year were going to be: becoming, living gratefully and almost as an after thought: the word wait.
WAIT – that word wove its tentacles throughout my thoughts, prayers and experiences all year. The year was bathed with discernment and wandering into new unknown spiritual terrain with God and where I wanted to know the clear path and was ready to take off – God has me sitting at His feet, listening and waiting. A year of Mary, not Martha for my soul.
I heard 2013’s word the first time in a most unusual way for me: in a dream. I am not one to remember dreams so when it came to me in this way I knew to pray about it and it seemed to resonate and linger so I kept it. Or should I say it chose me?
The word? STRETCH.
There are some fun and interesting web resources on finding a word of the year:
One word 365 is a whole web site dedicated to this topic:
Thanks to Melanie at Only a Breath – she will make a button for your blog with your word. See mine above. Thanks Melanie!
Christine at Abbey of the Hearts is offering a free 12 day mini retreat to help you find your word.
Chris Brogan wrote a wonderful blog post just this morning on how he choses three words and works them into his year. His word choice is fascinating.
Kim Jackson shares her ideas on this guest post about consecrating your calendar for God. A new idea I am going to do this year.
Whether you chose a word or two or not – taking the time to reflect on the past year, harvest its lessons and plant seeds for the coming season is a worthwhile discipline.
And now let us welcome the New Year
Full of things that have never been.
—Rainer Maria Rilke
How about you? Do you chose a word? What has 2012 taught you? How will you grow in 2013? How do you celebrate new beginnings?
Thanks Robin but that word scares me too. But I know God will be with me and is in everything so I will trust and hold onto the bike handles for a wild ride! Kindness is a great word too. so is see. Paying attention is a key spiritual discipline and see if certainly part of that! May it bring you lots of blessings this year.
Beautiful word choice. I hope it brings you growth and peace.
Last year my word was kindness. This year it’s see. I want to see all the things I miss when I rush. I want to be more present in my own life. I love the one word for a year thing. It just fits me better.
Happy Sharefest. Have a lovely weekend.
Hi Lynn, some years I find one words, sometimes more than one and sometimes none. Just listen – a word may yet appear for you. For me I should have picked rest – as I have been fighting a terrible cold and have no time for illness in my life. ha!
Hi Jen, this word is a little scary too but somehow seems to be the one calling me so I claimed it and will goes its direction. Ahh, the adventures we lead….
Loved revisiting with you. And I love your word! I only started with the one-word-thing last year, which was actually three words. Still waiting for this year’s word.
Oh, I love “stretch.” I don’t think I’ve met anyone with this word yet. I really look forward to seeing what God reveals to you because I know I can learn so much through what He tells you!
Laura I have been doing this for probably 15+ years and always learn and grow from the practice. CAll it harvesting my journal. So glad we have connected and hopefully we can meet in person someday!
That is amazing, Chris. I just love how this connected. Thanks for spreading the word about today’s post too. I love how we can share and support each other: all positive energy, right?
What a lovely practice for a new year, Jean–to review your journal from the previous one. I think I might join you in this. So much gets lost if I don’t go back and revisit. Happy New Year to you, my friend! I”ve enjoyed having your thoughts linked up to Playdates with God this past year.
Hi Jean:
You wrote:
Then I will write out my hopes and dreams and what I think I hear as God’s invitations for the coming year.
I thought my words for the year were going to be: becoming, living gratefully and almost as an after thought: the word wait.
Being that I practice Law of Attraction EVERY day and see it as an extension of spirituality I focused on the two passages above.
Those three exercises:
–Writing out your hopes and dreams
–Living Gratefully
–Waiting
are the three most important precepts of LoA. In order to get what you want, whether it be success, abundance, love whatever it may be, LoA says:
–Write it down
–Be grateful
–Wait
Funny. That’s what you said too. Discovering Law of Attraction has only deepened my spirituality as I now understand that LoA is as I said above simply an extension of, another route to Spirituality.
May you find success, joy and abundance in the new year, Jean.
—
Chris