One of my dearest friends has a unique approach to New Year's resolutions. She has a word of the year, summarizing what she believes God has for her in the upcoming year. I remember a couple of years ago her word was "FREEDOM!" (to be yelled as Mel Gibson yells it in Braveheart). If I remember right (and this is quite debatable these days), this was the year she did Beth Moore's Breaking Free, knowing it was time to move past old hurts and strongholds. All year long, she focused on the idea of asking the Lord to bring her a new freedom.

I actually had time during my amazing and relaxing anniversary trip over New Year's to contemplate this for myself for the first time. Late one night, as I was falling asleep, I whispered a prayer about my word for the year 2010.

Drum roll for the random word that kept repeating in my head........embrace. Huh? Now, freedom seems like a lofty and holy goal. But, embrace? As in the year of the hug?

So I gently asked the Lord--"WHAT?!" But, over and over, embrace just rang in my head. Then, I began to consider embracing this odd season of life, embracing who God made me to be and how He made me, embracing how God made my children (other than the obvious areas of discipline requiring attention), embracing the circumstances of my life, embracing the chaos while also working to maintain some margins, embracing all the people in my life (faults and all)....just EMBRACE.

So, last week, I was again asking God, "What? Embrace?" (because I just couldn't embrace that word as the word of the year). Patient with my constant questioning, I felt God lead me to look up the definition. Here it is:

Main Entry: 1em•brace
Pronunciation: \im-ˈbrās\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): em•braced; em•brac•ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French embracer, from en- + brace pair of arms — more at brace
Date: 14th century
transitive verb 1 a : to clasp in the arms : hug b : cherish, love
2 : encircle, enclose
3 a : to take up especially readily or gladly b : to avail oneself of : welcome
4 a : to take in or include as a part, item, or element of a more inclusive whole b : to be equal or equivalent to intransitive verb : to participate in an embrace

Do you see number 3a particularly? TO TAKE UP ESPECIALLY READILY OR GLADLY! 2010 will be the year I allow the Lord to show me how to take up all that He has for me, all that He made me to be, all those circumstances I cannot change--ESPECIALLY READILY AND GLADLY! I will EMBRACE. When you see me, please ask me how it's going. Maybe offer me a warm embrace and encourage me as I continue to journey with my Lord to EMBRACE this life He's given me.