I have stumbled across several blogs that are conveying the same simple message of how to begin this new year of 2014.  I like simple….how about you?  I am including their sites so you can reflect over their writing and the simple act of embracing ONE WORD for your new year.

http://www.faithbarista.com/2014/01/just-one-word-giving-voice-to-your-soul-even-when-you-have-very-little/

http://oneword365.com/

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2014/01/the-most-important-skill-that-your-2014-really-needs/  

Choosing ONE WORD to live my year by seemed a bit daunting.  So many meaningful words went racing through my mind.  

In December, I was a guest at a  Ladies Christmas Tea. Eventually, my turn came to choose a surprise gift from under the tree.  My random gift was a coffee mug, bright and cheery, with ONE WORD on it. Unexpectedly, but so like my God, my word for 2014 was right there in front of me.  

 It makes me a little weak in the knees and my heart beats a little faster when I think of my ONE WORD.  Are you ready for it?  My ONE WORD is….TRUST. 

Trust is a very B.I.G. word for a recovering control freak like me.  Control…what a self-delusion.   I have learned that I can only make choices for my own life.  Control is the illusion I can control other people and circumstances to shield my heart from rejection and hurt.  The fruit of that false belief system is emotional exhaustion and strained relationships.  Cynicism and fear are cruel taskmasters.

2014 will be my journey of trust.  Trust in myself, trust in my husband’s love and trust in my God.

This year, I will trust that the work my Lord has done in my heart, and continues to do, is worth sharing.  In The Message version of the Bible, 2 Corinthians 1:4, says this….”He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.”  I trust He will bring me alongside those who need my encouragement and love. And I trust I will be bold enough to be transparent and honest.

Oh….my marriage.  We will celebrate 38 years of marriage this year. Amazing, since I am not an easy woman to be married to.  I am intense, I can be harsh and judgmental, and I can be the ultimate drama queen.  Due to my dad’s alcoholism, my home of origin was full of strive and anger.  I brought that atmosphere into my marriage.  Peace felt foreign and frightening.  So what did I do to attempt to create my “normal”?  I picked a fight.   My poor husband….he was shell shocked in those early years. In 2014 I am going to trust in the love my husband has for me, receive it, and embrace peace and quiet.

Birds have become a symbol of freedom to me.  I have an old, rusty bird cage in my living room.  I leave the door open to remind myself that, in Jesus, I am free.  This morning I read a Scripture I have read many times over.  It took on new meaning, in this, my year of trust.  Matthew 6:26…”Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.  And you count far more to Him than birds.”  I am stepping into this new year trusting in my God who gives me permission to be careless in His care.

And you?  What might your ONE WORD be for 2014?