Starting in December I begin to pray for a new theme for the coming year. I begin by asking God to wrap up the theme for the current year by showing me how certain events or moments throughout that year played into the theme that I felt like I had got the year before. By the beginning of December I typically have a good handle on why the theme for the year was spoken to me and can start to pray into the next year. This is the most exciting part because it seems like for three weeks different words or images stand out. People all around me have no idea that I am paying attention to every word they choose to use. If I pick up on one word standing out more often than others, I start to question whether or not that word is the theme word for the coming year. Like every year by the second week of December I was fairly certain that the word for this year is discovery.
There were several circumstances and conversations that seemed to bring me back to this word. After deciding to move to California, one of my dear friends was praying over me and prayed that this coming year would be a year of discovery for me. I was talking with my elder at church one afternoon and he mentioned that I really had no idea what I would discover about myself by moving so far away and pursuing the things God had placed on my heart. My mom then mentioned that the doctors had discovered cancer in her body. This one word was spoken to me three times in less than 3 hours. As I began to pray into it I realized that for 2013 it truly is going to be a year of discovery.
Last years word was journey and although I knew it was the right word I had no clue what the year was going to really look like. I quickly realized that what circumstance the word journey was used determined the connotation of the word. Sometimes it was exciting and brought about this sense of adventure, while other times it was pair with this long and emotionally draining thought. So it has been hard to pin point excited what the word would really mean to me each year. For this year I want to believe that the word discovery is going to be fun and only lead to super exciting moments and memories. However, as I've prayed into it more since the year began I'm fairly certain that it is going to be more about discovering who I am and what is deep within me. Even more than that it's going to be more about discovering who Christ really is to me and how much I need him. So either way it is going to be worth walking into this year with a full understanding of what it may lead too, praying that it would ultimately lead me down a path that would make me more like the Son.
Usually by this time of the year I have a grasp on the goals for the year; however, this coming weekend we will be joining Josh's parents on their annual goal setting trip. I have chosen to hold off on setting goals until after that to see how God speaks and uses that time. Prayerfully anticipating some great words. :) Praying for you as you too begin to look ahead to what 2013 will bring for you and your family. May you live each day intentionally focused on what it means to walk alongside such an amazing Father.
B
"The real voyage of discovery consists in not seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
Marcel Proust
