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
My chosen word is COURAGE. In so many areas of my life right now this is what is required: Whether to retire, whether to maintain This old-house of mine and stay here, whether to pursue the art-making style I find myself drawn to though it is different than before, whether to risk isolating myself a bit more to dwell within. At 78 years old there are other big unknowns looming and I want to embrace the question marks and move boldly to stay put or boldly to do something different.
The word that seems to be choosing me is “light.” More wisdom yet to come as it is confirmed for me.
The word God has placed on my heart is “health.” I have been on a journey for a while now – with a strong push for these last two years – to holistically reclaim my health (even if the physical parameters change) and continue on this journey of faith.
Holistic healing gracing my days,
Eternal Word calling me to be
All that I have been designed to be:
Loving my siblings throughout all the world
To bless each other divinely.
Happy New Year.
Commitment. A word that challenges me to bring myself ‘to the table’ and notice my willingness to participate….or not. A starting point for me entering into daily life.
Thank you Christine.
My word for 2018 is “perspective.” I can tend to only see what’s up close, and thereby have a skewed vision of things. I am invited to take a step back as I view things and seek His perspective as well. Blessings.?
The English translation for my word would be ´to ground´ or ´grounding´.
I want to ground myself in sacred practice
I want to ground in the landscape I inhabit
I want to ground myself in my wounded body
My word is “EMERGING” and here’s my acrostic poem:
Enfolding love’s embrace
Mystery of the unknown
Emerging possibilities call out,
“Reawake, slumbering heart, chilled by the cold!”
Glowing embers bringing back to life
Imagination and hope
Not dead but
Generously outpoured in expectation
Contemplation is the word that leapt out at me. The “subtitle” is “holy pause.” I need to slow down, be present, give space to things and between things. I need this kind of commitment to make it happen as I tend to rush through too much.
TEND is the the word that choose me – along with it’s companion words of attend, attentive, attention. It is about TENDING the holy within.
It’s been wonderful reading your words for the year. Thank you for sharing. The word that has chosen me is “mindfulness.” And it’s already making an impact on how I am be-ing in the world – letting mindfulness be the place from which everything else in my life emanates.