Word of the Year

I first learned about Word of the Year (WOTY) a year or so ago from Stacy Julian's blog. I liked the idea, but it was part way through 2008 when I read about it and I kind of forgot about it. Then I read about it again on Handmade Homeschool early this year. As soon as I read that post, I had "my" word in mind. It came to me instantly. However, I was a little hesitant to post about it. To be honest, I thought my word was kind of cliche, a little unoriginal, and perhaps even too mundane. So even though I knew I wanted it to be my WOTY, I didn't write about it here. Then I got back to school and work and forgot about it for a few weeks........until today. I was sitting in church this morning listening to the sermon and realized that it was totally about MY WORD. I took this as a sign and decided to go ahead and write this post announcing my WOTY. Before I reveal it, however, I want to share the Scripture passage from church today. I really liked it. Here it is from Romans 13:8-10:

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," " Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

In case you haven't guessed by now, my WOTY is.............LOVE. I am completely sure that this is a great word for me for 2009. In addition to today's sermon, earlier this week I was watching Oprah and she had a guest named Elizabeth Lesser who has written about how difficult times can make you stronger spiritually. The comment that most struck me from this show was when Elizabeth asked people to think about how we approach others. Do we do so with judgment and criticism or do we stand before them with love and acceptance? I know how easy it is to fall into the first type of mind-set, but I appreciated the reminder to follow the latter. I think one of the things I have found most ironic in life is how easy it is to be your "best self' around people you don't know well, and how hard it is to always be your "best self" around those you love the most.
Part of that is probably human nature and results from our comfort level around those we know and love the most. And I realize that God wants us to treat EVERYONE, not just our friends and family, with the utmost of compassion and love. Still..........I sometimes find it hardest to be my best loving self at home. I find myself being impatient and grouchy far more than I want to be. So............I am happy to have settled on my word, LOVE. I think having that as my focus this year will cause me to be more vigilant and reflective about my thoughts and actions. And hopefully, I can honestly say at the year's end, that I have been more LOVING this year. I will have more to write about this in future posts. I am even thinking about making some kind of artwork which will represent my word. If and when that happens, you can expect to see and read about it here. Until then...........take care and have a great week!