That is my word of the year.
A few years ago, my word was CLARITY. Some professional situations were teaching me the value of clarity, and the expense of its absence... I realized that this principle applied to the rest of my life, too. It was a good word to grow with.
The next year, SUSTAIN was the word I that guided me often. In times of doubt, wondering, impasse, frustration - I turned over and over again to the fact that God sustains, is alongside, and that I can see so little of what is important. I learned (through experience, not just in my head) that in trusting the sustaining (faithful, loving) actions of God I can better see the sustaining (faithful, loving) actions of God.
Last year's word was TENSION. I felt a growing awareness of the reality (and necessity) of simultaneous push/pull. It became increasingly clear to me how much we need tension to grow, how much we need to be okay with it rather than resisting it. I realized how much I want to fix, mend, tend, heal, cure, and how little I wanted to 'be alright to sit with' things just as they are... and that there are indeed times when that is what I must do. (An old friend talks about the tension between success/failure on his blog..thoughts not expressed frequently enough in our culture of competition and achievement!)
This year, DECENTERED is the theme/word I want to learn from. I've come across this word in counselling texts, and its a way of practicing, of being with people that resists being expert, resists knowing anything at all. An image that goes along with this word is one of flying above circumstances, somewhere in the sky, rather than being mired and attached to every aspect or detail of a situation. A decentred approach genuinely cares without obsessively owning. It influences without being completely invested in outcomes. The opposite of decentred - centered - can lead to an inappropriate sense of responsibility, a heavy burden, even exhaustion. But being appropriately attached to circumstances can be invigorating and life giving. I need to grow in the ability to be decentered, and if this year's word is like those from the past, I will learn a great deal in the months to come.
If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Matthew 6, The Message (MSG)
