One Little Word 2014

If I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1

Several years ago, I came across the idea of choosing one word to focus on for the year, rather than making a list of resolutions. Apparently, it’s an idea that started in the scrapbooking community (which is probably where I first heard it), but has spread well beyond that. The last two years, I spent much of December and into January trying to choose a word for my One Little Word, but never could quite come up with something that liked.

2014 is a different story. I can’t remember when God first put the word in my heart, but I know it was confirmed for me when I began reading a book my sister gave me for my birthday in October, Love Does, by Bob Goff. (If you’re looking for an enjoyable book that has the potential to change your life, I highly recommend this one!)

For 2014, my One Little Word will be LOVE. I commit to spend the year learning how to love well – how to love God with all my heart, to love my husband the way God created me to love him, to love my family and friends in such a way that they see God through me, and finally, and maybe most importantly, to love my enemies and those with whom I disagree without sacrificing my own faith and beliefs. I know this last area will be the most challenging, but it’s also the one where I’ve been most convicted. How do I show love those who make decisions that go against my beliefs without accepting the decisions they’ve made? In other words, how do I love the sinner while hating the sin? How do I love such that my voice is not just a resounding gong or clanging cymbal, but is actually making a difference in the world?

I don’t know where my One Little Word is going to take me this year, but I pray that God will use it to shape me into the Godly woman He has created me to be. I want to end 2014 with more “faith, hope and love – but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)