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Rooted

Well here it is… a new year.  For some, a new year may mean a New Year’s resolution or new health and wellness goals.  For some, it may mean writing down where they see themselves in one year or maybe making a list of things they would like to accomplish.  I have done all of these things at one point or another, but last year I did something a little different.  Last year, for the first time, I chose a word for my year.  

I saw lots of friends on social media posting their word of the year and all of the positivity they experienced by remaining focused on that word.  I thought, this is for me! I didn’t know how the word of the year got started, and I didn’t know if there were rules or exercises to help choose the word, I just knew it was bringing hope and growth to other friends and I wanted to be in on it!

So last year I just started to think and reflect, not so much about where I had been or who I was at the moment, but about who I wanted to be in the future.  I started to think about how I wanted to see myself.  After much reflection, I thought about the image of an oak tree.  I thought about how the oak tree is steadfast yet still strong enough to bend.  I liked that image.  But like any success story, there is more to it than what you see.  We all have to start somewhere small.  So I thought about the roots of an oak tree.  I thought about how the roots are the backstory of the tree…growing with it and literally keeping it grounded.

That’s it…I had my word…root.  I then looked for bible verses that could go along with my word and stumbled upon this… “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts though faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17). 

There it was…2018 would be my year to be “rooted and grounded in love.”

I will have to tell you, remaining focused on the image of the steadfast oak and its deep roots has changed me.  Thinking about being “rooted and grounded in love” has brought about a good and lasting transformation to my life.

This past year I made a conscious and daily effort to really listen to my kids.  Before, I often found myself nodding and giving verbal cues that I was listening, but I wasn’t.  To be truthful, I didn’t master it 100% of the time this year either, but I was better.  Looking at them when they talk and listening intently on what they were saying, to me, was a way to be “rooted and grounded in love” with my children.

I also made it a point to make my husband feel valued, and important, and listened to.  Again, I wouldn’t call myself a shining example of this one, but I got better.  Over this past year, I can honestly say we have grown closer than in other years and we just had a lot of fun together.  It is a blessing and a reassurance that we are still the best of friends even after 18 years of being married.

I focused on my friendships as well.  I really paid attention to those friends who were like a ray of sunshine to my outstretched branches; those friends who were like water to roots ready to grow.  I will tell you, there are friends I have had for years that I feel closer to than ever before.  And there are some friends I have only known a short time that have enriched my life more than I could express.

I think the biggest change I have experienced this year was simply my belief in myself and the things I could do.  I wanted to go beyond anything I had ever done before and I wanted to do it in a way that was “rooted and grounded in love.”  With the love and support shown to me by those closest to me, I started this little blog.  Sharing with a community of readers each week has brought me so much joy.  It is a bright start to my week.  I find such connection and purpose, especially when someone shares, “I’m glad I’m not the only one.”

With the close of 2018, I certainly feel more rooted than ever before right where I am with those right here with me.  

I still do not have my word for 2019, but I am working on it.  


The truth is, I think that’s a big part of what life is all about…that we are working on it and getting better…one year, one week, one day at a time.

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