Word of the year: 2022

This year I am finally picking the word, patience.  It has been a long time coming.  I have always struggled with my patience.  I don’t like to sit and wait.  I also can easily get frustrated and not handle my frustrations with the most grace.  However, something I think that is important is that I will continually work on my previous words of the year.  My word of the year from 2020 was freedom and my word of the year from 2021 was Joy.  Because the year is over, I can sometimes feel that I don’t need to spend the time thinking about those past words.  That actually won’t help me grow.  While it is important to have a particular word and verse for the year, so I can stay focused and I can see growth, I need to make sure to continually grow in all fruits of the spirit.  

I recently wrote about patience and how I need to grow in patience in small things.  I am too often impatient when it is the little things that can go wrong, while I can be more patient in the big moments like losing my grandpa.   My goal is to take the moments when it is the little problems that arise.  Whether this be the moments that I spill coffee on my outfit as I am walking into the school or I am listening to someone say something that I don’t necessarily agree with.  Those are the moments when it can be very easy to curse in my head or get crabby instantly.  I know those are not the moments that should define my day and should not be a determiner in how I choose to act, yet at the present moment, they can be major mood shifters.  Realizing that little things can go wrong in your day, accepting them, and moving on will make my life on earth more enjoyable.   

The other problem and reasoning I need to pick the word patience as the word of the year is because I am not completely believing in the Lord’s sovereignty at the present moment.  I know I have been the best at trusting in the Lord’s plan.  I need to remember to patiently wait for the Lord’s timing.  This can be really hard for people, even God’s followers, because even though we can know God is completely sovereign, good, and holy, we still have a desire to plan our own lives.  It can be easy to desire our lives to be the way that we want them to be.  We have a vision and when the Lord seems to be going a different way than our vision was taking us, we are somewhat confused and feel misled.  

The verse that I need to remember the most this year is Romans 8:25.  I have also decided that this is going to be my verse of the year. This says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”  We do not see all the workings of the Lord, but we need to remember to be patient for it and to remember that the Lord is in control.  This is similar to the people back when Jesus was around and the disciples and his followers didn’t understand what Jesus had been planning.  He even said in John 13:7, “Jesus replied, ‘ You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’”  There are many times when I don’t know what God’s plan is or what he was doing on a particular day, but I have to know that God does have a plan.  

Last year, I had a joy journal where I wrote down one thing every day that brought me joy.  I am still planning on focusing on that, but I know that I need to find a way to focus on my growth in patience.  I am going to make sure to pray in the morning every day for patience.    When I have some impatience throughout the day, I am going to try to take a few minutes to journal about it before I move on to the rest of my actions.  Lastly, I know I need to find more coping mechanisms, whether that is I need to take more deep breaths or go on quick walks before I let the frustrations and anger fester or make their way into my words and actions.    

One last verse I will end this blog with is Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”  I chose this verse to end with because I believe it does a great job of highlighting the three words that I have chosen over the past three years and gives me a projection for this next year.  It is important to remember to be joyful and to continue to hope for whatever is in the future.  It is also important that I stay patient regardless of the affliction or the issues that come my way.  Lastly, this is only going to be achieved through prayer in the Lord and the freedom that comes from following him.