At the start of 2009, I asked God to lay a word on my heart and He gave me: INSPIRE. I used that word to search for what inspired me or how I could inspire others.
In 2010, I did not take the time to ask or listen for a word.
In 2011, I asked God to lay a word on my heart for the year, and He gave me: TRANSFORM. It was a year of transformation for me, our family, a Ukrainian boy we hosted in the summer, Artem and those that heard Artem's story. Last year was a year of transformation and change. I kept a piece of paper on my bulletin board with "Transform" circled in the middle and spider legs coming out with scripture, stories, books and Godincedences that touched our family deeply in 2011.
With those recollections, I was eager to ask God for a word for 2012. I prayed about it 2 weeks ago and He gave me a word the next day. It was a very clear call to use the word REFLECTION. After hearing the word, I came across several pictures in my mind that God was using to tell me what He meant. I'm a visual person, so I like to have an image in my mind with my word. Last year, I used the picture of a caterpillar and butterfly to visualize my word, Transform.
This year, I found a lot of beautiful images of nature reflected in water. Even though there were some really breathtaking pictures, it just didn't feel right. I did not want the reflection to be the same image simply reversed - I wanted it to be a different image. I wanted it to be an image reflected that isn't seen in the rest of the picture. I don't know if this is what God had in mind for my word, but it is what spoke to me the loudest.
I will admit that this word feels daunting to me, but after seeing the growth from last year, I'm stepping forward on 1-1-12 with REFLECTION on my mind and in my heart. And I wait in excited anticipation to see this word come to life.
