[Seek]ing a New Word

 

[Advent 23]

As the year draws to a close, I begin thinking about my word for the new year and reflect on my word for the past year.

This year was the year of [Seek]ing. I posted:

[Seek] to me, is a word of hope; of forward motion; of journey, not destination. I've realized that I'm not seeking to end up somewhere or some way this year. I'm simply hoping to learn and grow and enjoy the journey.

I'm glad I entered this year without expectations. This was not the year to have expectations. 

My young adult children began this year expecting to be employed by the summer. One even got a summer job at Camp Calumet.  Enter Covid-19 and my doctors' advice to me to stay home and stay safe - and not to have anyone work outside the home unless absolutely necessary. 

The job search was off. My husband was lucky enough to retain his job - and blessed that his workplace has put numerous safety measures in place. 

In conversations with others over these past nine months, people often question why my grown children aren't working. The answer is simple- to keep me safe. I can't afford to risk my life so that my children can help with household expenses.

So we spent the past nine months together in our house, doing our best to stay sane and have fun.  

This year we sought many things ... 

...safety through quarantine and limited in person interactions with others; 

...improvements ... in ourselves, in our home, in our relationships;

... time away ... trips to Camp Calumet to quarantine in different surroundings, taking in the beauty and comfort of this sacred space;

... time together ... having more family game nights, watching movies together, and playing Dungeons & Dragons;

... to help others ... through providing meals to families at our church; raising money for Camp Calumet through the Reach the Beach Walk, RTB 2.0, and Run4Camp;

... to give of our time and talents via editing worship videos, creating fun videos for church, singing, playing ukulele, etc;

...to learn new things, including playing the ukulele, how to play D&D, and video editing skills.

...to find hope through worry and fear; 

...to find joy in the midst of loss and sorrow; 

...to connect with others in new and different ways;

...to live in gratitude for what we do have and can do.

I'm not sure what my word for 2021 is going to be, nevertheless [seek] seems to have served me well during this year unlike any I've ever experienced.