Stride.

     A church out of Wilmington, NC challenged its members in 2010 to choose a word to help shape their coming year instead of making a list of resolutions.  I heard about the challenge last year on K-Love and was inspired by the abstract kind of motivation it could unleash in my life.  They have a website to help you get started and write about your journey: http://www.myoneword.com/.  Last year my word was "bloom" and, as you may have guessed, became the catalyst for me to start my blog.  As 2011 drew to a close, I started to think about what my driving word would be for 2012. I noticed immediately that I was feeling pretty protective over the word "bloom" and was upset that I was going to have to trade it in for a new word.  "Bloom" really did have a presence in my life throughout the year and it really was the perfect word as I was growing in my new Christian life.  I could never have guessed that a single word could have had such a profound impact on me and the person I'm becoming and now I had to replace it!  How could another word possibly even measure up?

     At first I thought I would spin off of the word "bloom", maybe even pick a flower with a special symbolic meaning.  Maybe a word related to gardens or horticulture.  It wasn't working.  I was frustrated.  As I sat still, contemplating my journey in 2011, I eventually began thinking about what I want for myself, my marriage, my health, my career, and my relationship with Christ in 2012.  A smile started to spread on my face and I chuckled at myself because I absolutely do need a new word for this year because I did indeed BLOOM!  I also realized that I will not be leaving the word behind; it has been firmly planted in my soil and will continue to nourish me in the same way it did last year.  I'm not giving up the word, I am just adding another word to help push and propel me to the next level, to help shape me in different ways.  "Bloom" was a great foundation -- I can picture it in my mind's eye as a flower (me) basking in the sunshine (the word, the church, my family and friends), learning to unfurl its petals (my faith).  Armed with the knowledge that "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13), I am ready to MOVE and see where else my faith can take me!

     After the epiphany, it was so simple to choose my new word.  I have been running again for a couple of months and it was only natural and fitting that I would pull this new gem from running lingo. 

Stride

Verb: 1) to walk with long, decisive steps is a specified direction  2) cross (an obstacle) with one long step
 Noun: 1) a long decisive step  2) a step or stage in progress towards an aim  3) a good or regular rate of progress, especially after a slow or hesitant start
Idioms: Hit one's stride 1) to achieve a regular or steady pace or course  2)  to reach the point or level at which one functions most competently and consistently

Take in stride 1) to deal with calmly; cope with successfully

    

      Excitement for the coming year is positively bursting at the seams of this word and I love the images it conjures up in my head and all the ways I can apply it to the different areas I want to grow and move in.  Lists never worked for me; they lacked imagination and, although they were always written with good intentions, were devoid of heart.  I love that the one word permeates through everything I do, think and feel, and is an ongoing process and not something you just cross off a list (or fail to cross off a list in many cases).  It captures my imagination and helps me to look at myself and my life objectively and ask, "Am I becoming the woman God wants me to be?"  I want to live it out like a Casting Crowns song, "And I pray that they will see more of You and less of me. Lord, I want my life to be the song you sing"!! 

     With the choosing of a word at the beginning of the year, you pair it with a Bible verse that will help guide you.  I've been so busy this past month and a half and haven't picked up my Bible nearly as much as I would have liked, but it felt good to really delve in, flip from scripture to scripture, and look up parallel translations on the computer.  That's one serious setback to trying to read the Bible straight through from Genesis to Revelation.....I'm still in the Old Testament and very rarely get into the New Testament unless I am in church.  I will from time to time feel moved to look at something specific or read a certain book in the New Testament, but not often.  I have tried mixed reading plans, but something in me is compelled to read from cover to cover -- plus I don't like having to read at a certain pace like most of the reading plans have you do.  The three NT books I have read the most are Romans, Hebrews, and James so I am not surprised that 2012's verse came from one of those books.  I knew this year's verse was going to be about endurance (one of the reasons "stride" was my chosen word) because last year was about birth.  It's easy to maintain focus when your faith is new and inspiring and the fire of the Holy Spirit is burning fresh within you, but novelty fades and life happens and many people simply give in and fall back into the world.  My year's verse is Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."  I almost chose James 1:3-4 and Romans 5:3-4, but the Hebrews verse has an added element that has recently become so clear to me through two Casting Crowns songs (Until the Whole World Hears and I Know You're There).  I believe so fervently that I am supposed to be planting seeds everywhere I go. 

     I am thankful to have my word chosen and feel like I was led to it and Hebrews 12:1 for a reason.  Next January I am sure that I will be going through the same predicament and I look forward to seeing what this year's harvest yields. I know the coming year will have its ups and its downs and I have some prayers for myself and others that I really want answered, but I am excited to be running into 2012 with my "stride".....sometimes slow and steady and sometimes full steam ahead.