SHARE YOUR WORD FOR 2018
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 5, 2018 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 – The Wisdom of the Body
- One space in our Lent retreat – Watershed Moments in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
- 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!
433 Responses
FREE …simple, yet I have already realized in my first day, just how much there is to discover in this one word.
My word is Light. I am excited to discover why this word chose me. It feels like I’m directed towards learning about myself as light or being physically and emotionally light. Both a noun and a very. Still trying to get a handle on it.
“Promise” is my word for 2018. It came first as a noun, along with the verb “prepare,” as in “this is the year to prepare the promise.”
My word is CONNECTIONS. While I was working, I always found connections essential, exhilarating, and rewarding. But connections have been more challenging since I retired. In 2018 I want to embrace the joy of connections again.
My word is HOPE. I find creativity as a source of hope. Hope engages me in the moment and leads forward into life and possibilities.
My word for 2018 is Generosity. I am moving toward learning how God calls me to be generous with my time, resources, spiritual journey, faith–whatever comes. GRACE
UNLEASH. // This year, my word created a sense of inner resistance within me. I did not really want this word. I had an image of what I am called into this year, but couldn’t find any other word that could describe it as well. In the end, I returned to the word that came to me originally. Thank you for the beautiful journey.
My word(s) is “by another route”.
Throughout this practice I keep thinking of the wise men returning by another route. My life needs to return to health “by another route”.
The Monk’s Manifesto brought a clear description of what was welling up inside. Community and intimacy both came to me. In the manifesto :
“I commit to cultivating COMMUNITY by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey.” I printed it large and in bold. It is currently on my refrigerator. I look forward to watching this year as this intimate community or communities bloom.
I will read this part of the Manifesto weekly and see the words “intimate community” from my mirror this year.
I knew the Lord was telling me something that had to do with Sabbath and rest, but neither of those felt like the ‘right’ word. As I prayed into that sense of Sabbath rest, the word that found me was ‘anchored.’ And when it found me, it was like a puzzle piece that fit right into place. A shift happened and I knew that was the word. Months before, the Lord had given me a vision of myself in a rowboat. When I asked where I was to go, he showed me that the oars were at rest, and the boat was anchored. The beautiful thing is that the anchor was so much bigger than necessary for the little rowboat I was in. I had forgotten about that vision until I was praying about my word for 2018. When the word found me, the vision immediately came to my mind. I look forward to the Lord showing me what this word means more fully in the coming year.