Last year in January, I hopped on the whole “yearly word” bandwagon and I have to say- I’m thinking it was a good idea.
I’m a very visual person so having 1 word plastered around the house that reflects an attribute I hope to improve on this year, has made it easier for me to keep it at the forefront of my thoughts. In order to come up with the word, I started by reflecting on the previous year and my interactions with my family. My conclusion was that I needed to take a big step in the kindness department… thus my 2015 word of the year. Now, those who know me will probably be shocked (Ok- those who are not RELATED to me, and know me). You see, I can honestly say I do pretty darn well in the kindness department when it comes to others- and it isn’t insincere; just in case you were wondering. I can be genuinely nice to people around me but for some reason I have a hard time always being polite to the people in my home. Don’t judge… you have your problems too. It’s not that I’m cruel or in any way abusive, I just don’t put forth the same amount of effort with my loved ones as I do with others in order to be respectful and sweet.
My attitude has always been my downfall; you can ask my parents. I may have been goody-two-shoes in everything else, but my sass is always what got me into trouble. I guess I haven’t outgrown that one- dang it! Because of this, I wear my heart on my sleeve as well as on my face- meaning if I’m upset you’re going to know it because you will be able to see it in my countenance. This is where the problem starts. I get interrupted, disobeyed, ignored, whatever, and then I start to get a little, um… visibly agitated. However, once something happens to just kind of tip that little bubbling pot- I give curt answers, bark orders, become sarcastic, and many more extremely unattractive and ungodly things. Have you gotten the idea yet that this is something that I’m NOT proud of? OK- just making sure. I HATE this about myself and have to constantly battle with the temptation just to say whatever pops into my head in whatever way it pops.
My solution: a plan of action. Obviously, I cannot even begin to combat this without God’s Word hidden deep within me- that means constantly being IN His Word so that it becomes a part of even my subconscious thinking.
“With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.”
(Psalm 119: 10-11)
Things that are buried in the subconscious will eventually gain control of the conscious. You can quote me on that! Now, that means I can either think I’m great and go about my day to day relying on a humanly-selfish subconscious to be just fine if it ever rears its head OR I can realize that I cannot trust my sinful nature and I have to be proactive about my spirit.
So, I stay in The Word, (obviously, pray for help continuously) and I visually put the word “kindness” in as many places as possible.
Could a special “word” help you as well? Write it on post-its, memo boards, the bathroom mirror, wherever you will most likely see it and heed its reminder. Don’t forget though, our work alone will never be enough to get ANYTHING done… we have to have the Holy Spirit living so fully in our hearts that our actions are an expression of a righteous subconscious. Whew… that was a mouthful. This comes by prayer, His Word, and repentance when we stumble. Don’t worry, He will always pick us back up- after all, He’s a nice guy.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
(Galatians 5: 22-23)
