The last few years I have spent some time setting goals and changing habits. I chose to use one word to guide me throughout the year. (A friend shared this idea with me). In 2015 it was un-clutter and 2016 was un-busy, both being driven by my life of clutter, filling empty spaces with the stuff of life that could instead been used for another purpose. Both these words touched on many areas of my life, my relationships, my home, my time, my faith journey, etc. 

This year as January rolled around I began to think through what God has taught me and what I was learning in the lessons of life. I waited and listened and looked around. Toward the middle of January I still had no word for 2017. I don’t need a word for the year, I certainly can live without one. But as I waited, and listened and looked around me, I suddenly was aware of God nudging me. I was reading a book through the month of January and one character’s name was Meg, her full name being Margaret. She learned the meaning of her name, which was pearl. I did a bit of reading on how a pearl is formed and immediately knew what my word for this year was to be. I knew that throughout the next year I want to trust God’s work in my life, in the big and little details, in order to respond like an oyster does, by coating the irritant, until a beautiful pearl is formed. How cool is that!

A pearl is formed when an irritant works it way into an oyster and the defense mechanism is to coat the irritant with layers of pearl forming ingredients. I love this! I thought through the irritants in my life, made a list and asked God how can I coat them with a pearl forming ingredient? What is that ingredient? Sometimes love, sometimes patience, sometimes joy. All fruit of God's Spirit working inside of me. 

So…2017’s word is pearl. Pretty simple, yet this will be a guide as I work to rest in God’s grace, trust his heart and his sovereign hand.

In my jewelry box I have a set of pearls. They weren't expensive but I usually only wear them once or twice a year. I figure they're pearls so I was saving them for something fancy. This past week I pulled out the pearl necklace and a set of pearl earrings and decided this was the way to remind myself what God is teaching me each day! So I am not saving these pearls for some fancy event, I'm wearing them, everyday!