new year, same God. The word for 2021
At long last, 2020 has come to a close. And what a year it’s been.... One filled with fear, unprecedented times, strange new threats, and political and civil unrest. On a personal note, it's been a year of change, struggle, grief, and some moments of the deepest pain I’ve ever been faced with.
But 2020 was also a year filled with growth, with slow and gentle healing, and with the emergence of a clearer love for my sweet Jesus. It was a year still filled with undeniable beauty... shown in new art, new learning, new friendships, and a new love.
In hindsight, it's interesting to look back on how 2020 was a tumultuous blend of these two experiences. And it’s strange isn’t it... how such a tension can exist in life: beauty and ugliness, sorrow and joy. Often found in the same moments, in the same breath.
I don’t know what your 2020 looked like, but I’m guessing it hasn’t been the easiest either.
Yet I’ve been holding onto this, and wanted to remind you of it as well... The promise of Emmanuel, God with Us, isn’t just a shiny phrase for the Christmas season... it is a truth that remains even in the darkest and ugliest of moments.
God is with us, steadfast and faithful.
And what a joy to know that our Creator and God is with us, in the midst of the strange realities and tensions of life. He is not indifferent to the lives of His children. He does not leave us to suffer on our own. In the moments of tears and laughter, He is there.
And He is always working, redeeming and making things new. That's in His nature.
I learned this more than ever before in 2020. And as I looked ahead towards a New Year, I didn't want that growth to go to waste.
I've never been a huge lover of 'new years resolutions' and the multitude of stereotypes that come along with them. Yet I find a new year does bring a rush of excitement, energy and motivation. It causes all of us to look ahead, and dream about what's to come. So it seems only fitting that there's a form of resolution or goal setting that happens. At the very least, there's a change of posture, or a reset that I find incredibly healthy.
I love the idea of prayerfully considering and choosing a word (or words) to be the vision or theme for a new year. If discerned well, this little habit steps beyond some of the superficial traits our goals tend to take on, and assumes a deeper and more introspective focus. And since 2020 was a year that lacked any type of tangible resolution or reset for me, I decided to do this for 2021.
As I began to ponder, it didn't take long for a word to settle in my heart.
Abide.
From the New Oxford American Dictionary:
abide | əˈbʌɪd
It's a little word, that sits nicely on the tongue. Yet what quiet strength it carries. I thought of this word, and it reminded me of this passage in John:
"Abide in me, and I in you... I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.
As the Father has loved me, I have all loved you.
Abide in my love."
John 15:3-5, 9.
To abide. To remain in. To accept, act in accordance with.
To continue, without fading or being lost.
To continue onwards.
Abide.
After a year of deep sorrow, deep growth, deeper joy... it's right to focus on abiding in the lessons that I've learned. To continue onwards in the new patterns that were forged. To rest in the presence of Jesus, to be rooted deeply in the True Vine. To accept His yoke, and walk the path that He walks on.
So whatever may come... 2021 is the year of abiding in Him. In His love.
More than ever I have become aware of how I can do nothing apart from Him. But with Him...
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