Finding Your Word for the Year: A Practice of Listening

by Lori Wilson

Turning the calendar from one year to the next has become sacred time for me—a threshold moment to pause and see where God has been moving in my life. As I stand at this turning point, I ask God to help me see both where I've been and where I need to grow. I'm not looking for a to-do list or a self-improvement plan. I'm listening for an invitation.

For the past seven years, I've asked God to help me hear a single word—my high-level invitation for the year ahead. You can see how these invitations have evolved:

• In 2019: pause

• In 2020: choice

• In 2021: healing

• In 2022: growth

• In 2023: balance

• In 2024: receive love

• In 2025: intimacy

• In 2026: courage

Looking back at these words, I can trace God's gentle, persistent work in my life. Each word opened a door. Each word invited me deeper.

This Year: Courage

This year, God is inviting me into courage. Not the loud, flashy kind—but the quiet courage to be fully myself. To share my thoughts freely instead of holding back. To speak what I really feel inside instead of being so tentative. To make choices that might not be popular but that I know I need to make for my own growth and integrity.

Courage, for me, is about showing up as I truly am.

Why Not Resolutions?

I don't like resolutions. They often carry an underlying message that the old me needs repair, that I'm somehow deficient and need an upgrade. They set me up for disappointment. But I do want to grow. I do want to respond to God's invitation in my life.

This practice of listening for a word feels different. It's not about fixing what's broken—it's about leaning into what wants to emerge. It's about cooperating with the work God is already doing in me.

How to Find Your Own Word

If you'd like to explore this practice for yourself, I invite you to set aside some unhurried time. This isn't something to rush. Here's a process that might guide you:

1. Prepare Your Space and Heart

Find a quiet place where you won't be interrupted. Light a candle if that helps you settle. Have your journal or computer ready. Take a few deep breaths and invite God's presence into this time.

2. Begin with Prayer

Loving God,

You know me completely—my fears and my longings, my growing edges and my hidden strengths. As I turn toward this new year, help me see clearly. Show me where You've been at work in my life. Open my ears to hear Your invitation. Give me courage to respond. I'm listening. Amen.

3. Reflect on the Year Behind

Take time to review the past calendar year. You might consider:

• What were the significant events in my life this year—both joyful and difficult?

• Where did I experience major shifts or turning points?

• What patterns do I notice when I look back?

• What relationships shaped me?

• What surprised me?

Write freely. Don't edit or judge what comes.

4. Notice Where God Was Moving

Now look back through what you've written and ask:

• Where did I most notice God's presence this year?

• What encounters—both big and small—felt like God breaking through?

• Where did I resist? Where did I say yes?

• What has God been teaching me?

5. Listen to Your Deepest Longing

This step requires fierce honesty. Set aside what you think you "should" want. Ask yourself:

• What do I most long for in my life right now?

• What would bring me closer to wholeness?

• What would it look like to be more fully myself?

• What am I hungry for?

6. Ask for Your Word

Now, having done this reflection, sit quietly. Ask God: What is my invitation for this coming year?

Listen. Wait. Notice what rises in you.

For me, a single word usually becomes increasingly clear as I sit with this question. It feels both challenging and right—like something I need to face, something I need time to grow into.

7. Write It Down and Live with It

When your word comes:

• Write it down

• Pray with it over the coming days

• Post it somewhere you'll see it daily (I put mine in my bedroom as the last thing I see when I leave in the morning)

• Ask God regularly to help you live into it

• Pay attention throughout the year to how this word shows up

Living the Invitation

Your word for the year isn't meant to be another burden or obligation. It's an invitation to partner with what God is already doing in you. Some months, you'll feel aligned with it. Other months, you might forget it entirely. That's okay. This is about direction, not perfection.

As we step into this new year, may we each find the courage to listen, to hear, and to respond to the particular way God is calling us forward.

Additional Reflection Questions for Journaling:

• When I imagine living into this word, what feelings arise in me?

• What might resistance to this word reveal?

• Who in my life embodies this quality? What can I learn from them?

• What would my life look like if I fully embraced this invitation?

• What small, concrete step could I take this week to begin living into this word?