My Word of the Year for 2022…
For the last several years I have chosen a word of the year rather than set a lot of New Year Resolutions.
I like to set goals but find that my long term goals, too often shift to unimportant somewhere around February. Maybe I didn’t set SMART goals or maybe they didn’t line up with God’s plan for my life.
Either way, having a “word of the year” has benefited me much more than resolutions that I couldn’t even remember come December.
Last Year…
Last year my word-of-the-year was “cultivate”. I wrote that word in my planner and looked at it almost every day. It was incredible how many times I heard the word cultivate in 2021! It would be in messages at church, in books I was reading, in random Facebook posts, in texts from friends, and even showed up in my dreams. “Fruitful” was definitely the word God chose for me for the year.
I thought about it often and prayed that I could cultivate the programs and places of ministry the Lord had placed in front of me. The phrase “sowing into fertile soil” took on a whole new meaning as I chose where to give. I did not despise small beginnings but tended to the opportunities that the Lord brought before me. I reaped in places I did not sow. (I actually saw plants grow that I did not plant) I “broke ground” on some new places and cultivated those places in faith, trusting the Lord to grow them into what He wanted them to be. Sometimes, I felt like what I was doing was ridiculous and made no sense. But then another message or word from a minister would confirm where I was and encouraged me to keep going.
This Year…
Every year I pray for the word the Lord would choose for me. This year I got my word earlier than usual. I began thinking about it at the beginning of December and immediately two words came to mind. They were similar in meaning but I wrote them both down. I knew the Lord would confirm which word was to be for 2022. Several days passed and I was texting with some friends. One friend shared a specific scripture that confirmed one of the words.
My word for 2022 would be FRUITFUL!
It is the perfect word to follow “cultivate”. After all, you don’t normally see the fruit of what you have planted until after you have cultivated the crop. I am expecting 2022 to be full of fruit. Not just reaping a harvest from the work of previous years but also to see the Fruit of the Spirit in my own life. I want this coming year to be full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:3
Join us in the “Start Your Day Right” Challenge to kick your year off to a great start!
