Elizabeth Estrada ponders how her past words of the year have borne spiritual fruit.
This has been the third year in a row where I have a word of the year. I started this tradition after listening to the Abiding Together podcast. I decided to use an online Word of the Year generator because I didn’t really feel equipped to choose my own word through prayer.
My first word was stand and last year it was believe. As I looked back at these words it’s incredible how God works in our lives and how these words have played out in my life. I remember the first year, I looked up my word in scripture and really tried to figure out what it meant or was supposed to mean in my life. After a couple of months, I let it go and just left it alone. As the year progressed so many things happened that pointed back to that word.
Last year it was amazing to live out this word and see how God used it in my life and taught me so much about myself. The most important thing that I have learned with this process is that God has a plan and always had a plan after all:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5).
The thing about it is that I am not sure I really knew myself. I have read about many saints, like St. Teresa of Avila, that say that in the spiritual life it is imperative that one knows oneself. It sounds easy but it is very difficult. You have to let go of self-denial and self-delusion so that you can ask God to transform you and your heart in the person He formed you to be.
These words have done that for me which has been a gift. In these last three years I have learned more about myself and have allowed God to do His work. I know that this is a process which will probably take my lifetime and I am okay with that now, I wouldn’t have been years ago. My prayer is that my word this year will only make this journey sweeter.
I invite you to think about having a word of the year; it is the best gift you can give yourself.
Copyright 2022 Elizabeth Estrada
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About the Author
Elizabeth Estrada
Elizabeth Estrada, a public-school teacher, is an avid reader and enjoys crafting. She is in formation to become a Third Order Carmelite soon with her son Agustin.
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