My Word For 2023
Over the years, I’ve often started the new year with a list of resolutions.
”Read more books.”
”Lose X amount of weight by so and so date.”
”Save $$ with Gman.”
…and so on and so forth.
Although there is something powerful about listing out these goals at the beginning of the year, there were some goals I would successfully meet and some that I wouldn’t. It didn’t mean that I was a failure in life. It didn’t mean I wasn’t good enough. It just meant that maybe it wasn’t the priority I thought it was at the beginning of the year. I’ve often ended the year reflecting on my list written 11 months prior. I celebrate the wins and then re-evaluate what I could do better. For 2023, I was challenged to still have goals for the upcoming year, but live with a deeper abundance at this phase of my life.
A couple of months ago, I was sitting with a friend at a coffee shop when she turned to me and excitedly shared her word for the upcoming year. I’ve often heard friends talk about the concept of picking a word and using it as a theme for the new year. My friend asked if I had one picked out for 2023 and I replied I’d never done it before. I left our coffee meeting that day thinking about this concept and asking God if this was something I should do for the following year and continued through the holiday season processing this. There was a part of me that was reluctant. I guess it seemed like another task for me to do to prepare for the new year and I wasn’t really feeling up to it.
At the end of 2022, I chatted with another friend who brought up how she was still thinking about her word for the year, and without even knowing this was something I’d be thinking about, she sweetly said she would pray to God to reveal my word for 2023. I remember reading the text and thinking, “Okay, maybe I should really give this a shot.”
The rest of the day, I prayed to God about my word. I remember my prayer for this was a bit scattered, but it went something like,
“God, please help me pick out a word for 2023. Please let it be a word that will help me be better and can be used as a way to heal and process the damage of 2022.“
The next morning, the message came in loud and clear. "Mindfulness.”
Growing up, the faster I did something equated to how “good” I was.
I needed to think fast, talk fast, walk fast (something my friends in jr. high often poked fun at me for)…just BE FAST. Often in school, I remember teachers saying it was always best to take our time when doing things so there was no room for error. I remember looking at them and thinking, “Wait what? But that doesn’t mean I’ll be best!” This thought process was so skewed.
It wasn’t until I met my husband, Gedalya, that I saw the concept of mindfulness up close and personal. I saw how he thought things through and allowed himself to process things, versus me, where I was used to feeling the pressure of always having the answer for everything right away and acting on it.
There’s a sense of peace I’ve often admired in the act of slowness. No, not slowness like Flash from Zootopia lol. But being able to take time to be aware of the present moment, while giving me the space to think, process, and be in tune with myself without the pressure from others or even the pressure from my own self.
As I look back on the last few years, I’ve been able to really live this out in different parts of my life thanks to my recovery program, Celebrate Recovery. But if I can be truthful with you, dear friend…I didn’t live out mindfulness in ALL areas of my life, like relationships or my career. I look back on these two areas and it seems like I’ve been going 100 miles an hour on the highway and I’ve now exited and am taking the scenic route, wondering what the rush was all about.
With juggling life, setting boundaries, and living in organized chaos, it has consequently turned into me missing out on deeper connections in a few different ways:
Being more intuitive with myself.
Being more intentional in all I do.
Striving for peace in all areas of my life.
Additionally, I felt God telling me to pick out a scripture for 2023, one that would help me live out my word and intentions while tying it back to his purpose for my life.
One scripture that really resonates with me is Proverbs 3:5-6:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Trusting. This was another area I feel like I’ve been missing the mark on in my life. Not in the “Oh, I trust you God” way but more in the “Lord, please help me understand this” way. I habitually try to do things on my own and then invite God in. It’s a habit I’ve been trying to undo for a long time and have seen the enormous fruit from this labor. But sometimes, I forget whose I am and try to do it all on my own. This scripture is a great reminder that even if I have the ability to try to understand things on my own, it is always better to invite God into the experience because his understanding surpasses all.
I am in a season of trying to heal from last year’s trials. I have the tendency to replay the incidents in my head, so much so that I fall into a spiral of questioning God.
“Why did this happen?”
“Was it because of (insert reason here)?”
”What was the point of all of this?”
”Why does it seem like good failed at this moment?”
Just question after question of why’s.
But I’ve come to the understanding that it is not for me to understand. God knows and that is good enough. Replaying the tape back is not going to help me move forward into the treasures God has planned for me. So I need to trust and surrender to him knowing fully he has my back 100%. This boldness and confidence are how I plan to kick off the new year and thereafter!
So there you have it! This is what I’ve planned with the Lord for 2023.
Now, how about you: Do you have a word for 2023?
If not, that’s totally okay!
What are some things you hope accomplish this year?
Big or small, as long as you live your best life and are blessed by the Lord, I am rooting for you 100%, friend!
Xo 🌀✨