SHARE YOUR WORD FOR 2017
In ancient times, wise men and women fled out into the desert to find a place where they could be fully present to God and to their own inner struggles at work within them. The desert became a place to enter into the refiner’s fire and be stripped down to one’s holy essence. The desert was a threshold place where you emerged different than when you entered.
Many people followed these ammas and abbas, seeking their wisdom and guidance for a meaningful life. One tradition was to ask for a word – this word or phrase would be something on which to ponder for many days, weeks, months, sometimes a whole lifetime. This practice is connected to lectio divina, where we approach the sacred texts with the same request – “give me a word” we ask – something to nourish me, challenge me, a word I can wrestle with and grow into. The word which chooses us has the potential to transform us.
What is your word for the year ahead? A word which contains within it a seed of invitation to cross a new threshold in your life?
Share your word in the comments section below by January 6, 2017 and you are automatically entered for the prize drawing (prizes listed below).
A FREE 12-DAY ONLINE MINI-RETREAT TO HELP YOUR WORD CHOOSE YOU. . .
As in past years, I am offering all Abbey newsletter subscribers a gift: a free 12-day online mini-retreat with a suggested practice for each day to help your word choose you and to deepen into your word once it has found you. Even if you participated last year, you are more than welcome to register again.
Subscribe to our email newsletter and you will receive a link to start your mini-retreat today. Your information will never be shared or sold. (If you are already subscribed to the newsletter, look for the link in the Sunday email).
WIN A PRIZE – RANDOM DRAWING GIVEAWAY ON JANUARY 6TH!
We are delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey:
- One space in our upcoming New Year’s online retreat – Spiraling Inward: Seven Celtic Spiritual Practices
- One signed copy each of Illuminating the Way, Soul of a Pilgrim, Eyes of the Heart, The Artist’s Rule, and Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire.
- One space in our online program Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
- 4 people will win their choice of our self-study online retreats
So please share your word (and it would be wonderful to include a sentence about what it means for you) with us below.
Subscribe to the Abbey newsletter to receive ongoing inspiration in your in-box. Share the love with others and invite them to participate. Then stay tuned – on January 6th we will announce the prize winners!
316 Responses
My word is Engage. I have been aloof, maybe in desolation. Now it’s time
Bold. I came out of a 3 month sabbatical with the clear call to be bold–in preaching, in living and in trusting God.
Sense. The verb. 2017 has not yet begun, and these words take on all
kinds of lives as the weeks and months shape us and shape them. Right
now, though, I know that “sense” is about being willing to move out of
my head, being courageous to stay in the now, being open to be embodied.
The word that chose me for 2017 is Peace. For me it represents harmony, tranquility, reconciliation, agreement, well-being, tolerance and friendliness. In the chaos of 2016 and especially in the last weeks of the year I have yearned for peace in so many ways. I pray to God for all of the dimensions of peace not just for myself, but for everyone in the world.
Faith is my word, without faith, I get stuck and try to go forward without seeing the whole picture as God sees it. I usually make mistakes when I don’t wait for God’s answers. With Faith, I wait and let things play out, I don’t have to worry, I just have to be concerned, and let God be in control instead of me.
EarthTender. Enfolded by Earth and Mud, really involved through digging, tending, thanking and harkening.
My word is “enough.” I’m leaving a relationship and want to remember that I’ve taken enough grief, and that I am enough just as I am. I’m also simplifying so I want to remind myself that I have enough.
My word is simply “Listen”. I find myself wanting to fill in the spaces of my life (whether in conversation, schedule, centering prayer, etc). I believe “listen” will be a gentle reminder for me to slow down and notice the present.
Go With The FLOW
I love that my word is both noun and verb. It arrived a week or so ago and it feels like an invitation to move as water or air does. The Spirit seems to be calling me to learn more about how to let love FLOW through ( both into and out of) my heart. As I get older, I feel a desire to stay flexible in body and spirit. I swim for exercise and feel God’s presence more and more in the gentle inflowing and outgoing of my breath. As if the Spirit freely gives me life-giving air and I , in turn , am called upon to love those I meet each day. As a poet and a photographer, I often feel as though the essence of a moment gets captured in words or images as it flows through me. I have only to be open to it. So, yes, my word for 2017 is FLOW.
My word is following given by my Guru from the afterlife. I am following the star of the Magi, following the Christ one on his journey of the cross and into the Beautiful Light and Life of the Resurrection and Eternity.