Get Ready--and Hang On!

Each year a group of friends and I seek a word or phrase from God to focus on during the next year. It's a kind of theme, if you will, that we hold in our hearts and minds. My words have varied. One year it was Rest. Another, Integrity. Sometimes I know why my word is what it is. Other times, not a clue. But always, by the end of the year, the word's meaning has become abundantly clear. It's like a puzzle revealing itself piece-by-piece. And when the last piece is fit in place, what what may have seemed like random bits of chaos during the year crystallize into clear, wondrous focus. And what remains is truth. Beauty.

I started seeking my word toward the end of 2010. I usually have a sense of it by December. This time, though, I came up empty. No word. No phrase. I prayed and listened, read Scripture and devotions, talked with friends and family, and...nothing. I've learned over the years that there are times that God is silent for a reason, so I just waited.

Then, in late January, I was in Nashville for meetings at the publishing house where I've worked the past 5 years. One night, as I sat in the hotel room watching TV, something whispered through my heart.

Get ready.

I actually looked around to see if someone was there. Finding no source of what I was sure I'd heard, I turned back to the TV. And it came again.

Get Ready. Prepare.

It was so clear, so definite, that I turned off the TV and closed my eyes. Waiting. Those two phrases echoed through me, over and over. And when I opened my eyes, I knew. I had my word for 2011.

Prepare.

I had no idea for what, but I knew, as well as I knew anything, that was my word. I had such...peace about it. Such certainty. "Okay, God, let's go." I wasn't even sure what I meant by that. All I knew was I was ready to follow. To be prepared.

Good thing, too. Because the ride was on. Started the very next day, in fact. I'll tell you all about it.

Soon.

Peace, friends.

Karen