My Word for 2021

In some ways, I am still processing through the past year. I think a lot of people probably have been.  I know that some people are miraculously hoping for 2021 to ‘get back to normal’ or be so much better than 2020. Yes, God can do miracles, but he doesn’t always choose to work that way. And no matter what, the things that happened over the past year won’t just disappear. So now we are left wondering what the future holds for us, for our country, and for the world.

As I look towards the future in 2021, I have been praying about what God has for me this year & as in the last few previous years, I asked him to give me a word for 2021. It didn’t take too much time before I knew; Contentment. I couldn’t help but smile-big picture speaking, it seems a bit ironic. In my experience, God often seems to work that way.  In the last few years, I have grown a lot in the area of contentment, but I still have so far to go.  At first the idea of contentment being my theme for my relationship with God and my life seemed a bit daunting. But as I continued to pray and process through last year and what I’ve been learning and where God is leading me, I know that it is just what I need.

On a personal level, I already know a lot of what this year holds for us. The last few years have contained a lot of changes and excitement; getting married, a few moves, career changes, and having our first baby of course. But this year will be more predictable.  We will be in Illinois with Phil’s family, Phil will be in school, and I will be working my job. I have lots of dreams and ideas for the future and sometimes it is easy for me to be so focused on the future that I am not really embracing the present; this also opens the door to comparison  when I see others who currently where I want to be.  I think this is normal for so many of us.

This year provides a HUGE opportunity for me to learn to be content with the predictable; where God has us RIGHT now.  The idea of contentment is overarching-of trusting God more fully, of being present in the moment, of finding the beauty in the everyday and of not missing the opportunity to impact others where God has me.  However, on a more ‘big picture’ level, there is a lot of uncertainty, upheaval, and distress going on around us. It is so easy to start to question God and get really worked up about what is happening in the world. God is also giving me an opportunity here- “Do you trust me? Will you choose to be content in me?  Will you choose contentment, knowing that my ways are higher than yours? And I know what I am doing?”

Looking forward, I am excited for what God has for me in 2021. Where are you at? Maybe you are still struggling to process through 2020, maybe this upcoming year seems bleak or hopeless to you. What is God calling you to this year? Has he given you a word/theme for the year? The world around us may seem out of control and your life may feel that way too, but God is in control. And He has so much MORE for us than we are often able to see.