June 2013 was a milestone month in our family. Our youngest son graduated from high school, preparing to attend college across the country. The nest was emptying; a familiar milestone, and for many parents a painful awareness of change. In our family not only was the nest emptied, we moved it to a new city. New role of empty-nester, new city, new everything. The fall of 2013 I slipped into depression as all the unwelcome change overwhelmed me. The darkness threatened to swallow me during the following year. As the new year of 2015 approached I was desperate to find something to help my perspective change. I discovered My One Word.

My one word for 2015 was courage.

I can’t tell you how much the reminder to have courage in the face of the unfamiliar began to shift my perspective. I looked for scripture that spoke of courage. I wrote Courage on a stone heart given to me by a dear young woman; the stone heart symbolized for me my heart could be hardened or I could trust God would change me from the inside. No new year’s resolution; just one word to remind me of my desire. It worked.

I’ve chosen one word every year since.

For 2020 my one word is Thrive.

The scripture passage for this word is found in Psalm 92: 12-15. In the Holman Christian Standard Bible it reads:

The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare: “The Lord is just; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

In other versions thrive is translated flourish. I like them both. My favorite part is “they will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green…”

I want to be that old woman.

When I was 39 I attended a women’s retreat at Mount Hermon where the speaker asked the group a riveting question: What kind of old woman are you growing? These words have framed my thoughts and actions since that time. 23 years have passed since I heard that question; stumbling upon this passage as I prayed for my one word for 2020 I realized God has woven many random threads of my life together to bring life and purpose to this season of life.

Thrive

If you’ve never considered choosing one word to frame your focus as the new year begins, I want to encourage you to consider doing so.

If you’re a big One Word proponent, please share what some of your word choices have been.

Action step: consider choosing your one word for 2020. If you do, tell someone.

Here is the website I discovered My One Word