Word of the Year in Review

This is the time of year when I start thinking and praying about my word for the upcoming year.  Do you choose a word or phrase?  You may hate the idea and roll your eyes every time someone talks about it.  I get it.  I've heard all the pros and cons about having a word and have decided it works for me so I'll keep doing it.  

This time last year, I had a word, but just didn't want that to be it, so I put off naming it until January.  Funny thing, it ended up being the perfect word for the year.  

No, it wasn't dumpster fire. lol.  

My word last year was "TRIBES."  My hope was to spend more time with the people in my circle, showing how much I love them.

Well, Covid, made that a reality.  I worried at the beginning--with all 4 of us home, would we be at each other's throats every day?  Reality was we had dinner together more often than we had in previous years.  We did a couple of projects together--like cleaning out my office and adopting Hunter and 8 more chickens.  We took a family vacation and spent some quality time in the Ozark mountains of Branson.  

And then--just when I thought things were getting back to "normal"--we made a HUGE decision to move our family to Oklahoma.  The hard part of this is that we are still not all together, but I probably talk to my family as much, if not more, than when we were (FaceTime is just the best invention ever).  The added bonus is that in the middle of this pandemic, we have seen our extended family more.  Not to mention Granny.  If you'd have told me this time last year I was going to be caring for her 24/7, I would NOT have believed you.   

The other thing 2020 has done is re-define my tribes and what I am willing to give to them.  I was hoping my circle would widen when I chose the word--that I would make a few really close friends that I talk to on a daily basis.  That didn't really happen.  In fact, I have lost several friends throughout the year.  People I thought were in my tribe proved they were not when my circumstances changed, but some old friendships I had, grew stronger.  And while my #adventureswithgranny posts show the fun side of living here at the farm, they don't show the hard battle of dementia and aging.  So while I give less now to friends, I definitely give much more to my family and my "few" who have loved me well through this crazy year.

I still have no idea what my word for 2021 will be, but I'm praying and trying not to jump ahead and figure out the outcome from each word (being an enneagram 6 this is TOUGH!).  I'm confident God will give me the perfect one at the perfect time--like He always does. 

How about you?  Do you have a word yet?