Choosing JOY in 2021

For the last several years, I have chosen a Word of the Year. It’s a word that you focus on all year long, using it to help guide you, to make changes or, in some way, improve you physically, spiritually, or mentally. It’s an intentional effort to make it a part of your daily life. 

Last year’s word was GATHER. Here’s last year’s post about it. I feel like God must have snickered when I chose it knowing what was to come in 2020! I may not have gathered in the way I thought I would when the year began, but because of the way the year unfolded, GATHER became a really important word for us all. Despite all of the restrictions and challenges, I managed to gather with friends, neighbors, and family more than I thought I would. I was able to really work on getting out more and being more social, even if it was via Zoom! I gathered my thoughts much more often and actually put them on paper. I gathered memories in the form of photos and stories. But, most of all, I learned to treasure the ability to gather and being together with others more than I ever have. So, although, at first glance, it was a bummer of a word for the year, it was actually a blessing instead. 

My word this year is JOY. I didn’t really choose it; it chose me. Some years I really struggle with what word to choose, but this year, this one hit me full in the face. About a month ago when I started thinking and praying about what word I wanted to choose, joy, joyful, and joyous kept popping up all.over.the.place. I mean seriously, EVERYWHERE, and multiple times a day. I was still toying with several words and then I got asked to write something about joy for our advent devotions at church. I knew then it was no longer a choice.

What is joy? That’s a good question and one I’ll ponder often in the coming year. Some would say it’s the same as happiness, but I disagree. I think you can be joyful without being happy. In fact, I think you can be very sad and still be joyful. Joy is something that is deep inside and only rises to the surface when we have the Holy Spirit within us. Happiness is contingent on circumstance, but joy… Joy is an emotion that we can tap into intentionally in all circumstances. I want to be able to find that joy-true, deep, soul abiding joy-in everything, most especially in the hard, tough times and think it can only be found in our relationship with God. Sort of like the peace that surpasses all understanding. 

 I have never really documented or journaled about my words of the year other than maybe a note in my journal or a blog post about what it’s going to be but this year I’m going to try to be more diligent about noticing it and recording in some way how I’m finding joy throughout the year; probably my journal, maybe in my scrapbook, possibly here. I bought the sign in the picture it sits on my kitchen island so I’ll see it off and on every day. I also wrote it on an index card and put on my bathroom mirror and on the first page of my 2021 journal. I want it in my face multiple times a day to remind me to look for JOY in all things. 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13)

GATHER…a Word for the Year

I stopped doing new year’s resolutions a long time ago.  I NEVER kept them; in fact they were usually broken well before January was over.  And, for the  most part, they were unrealistic for me.  Several years ago, I was introduced to the word of the year concept and found that it really worked much better than a resolution. You choose one or two words that represent an area of your life that you’d like work on and concentrate on doing that. It’s not a laundry list of goals or a checklist of things you want to get done.  It’s  a character building/changing exercise. And while it’s not something I succeed at on a daily basis, it is something that does improve as the year goes on because I’m aware of it and therefore make a conscious effort to change it.

This year my word is GATHER. I’m also using BLOOM. There’s several reasons for choosing these words and once I started thinking about them, I saw little signs that reinforced my decision to use them.  One of the things I came across was this pretty little plaque in the clearance section at a local store. It came home with me and is on the table directly across the room from my kitchen sink where I will see it many times daily.

I really struggle with being sociable and doing things outside of my home. I am, by nature, a homebody in the sense that I am perfectly happy to stay at home and do ‘my’ things: craft, read, write, watch old movies, etc.  For the most part, I am happy with my own company.  I didn’t always use to be this way but I have found over the years that I tend toward being more of a recluse. To be honest, though, I am a people person. I love hearing people’s stories and discussing common interests. My husband is really a people person and is always ready and willing to go and do at the drop of a hat. I have to have days notice and dread it the whole time and psych myself up. Funny thing is, I always have a good time once I get there. It’s the getting there that’s hard.  He made a remark several months ago that got me to thinking and I realized that I have become quite anti-social lately. I’m not exactly sure why this has happened but I know that it’s not really a good thing so I’m determined to change that this year.  I am going to gather together with friends more and bloom where God has planted me.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another -and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25