Welcome, 2023! So ready to embrace a new year and look forward to what each new day will bring. For some fourteen years, rather than make multiple resolutions, I have selected a single word that would play a role in my life in the next 365 days. I pray over and carefully contemplate what that might look like in how it might play out from several angles. This year’s word is no exception. It has multiple facets and meanings that I will embrace and work on in my life. I put that word in the forefront of my mind and even make a cell phone background with the word emphasized to keep it ever before me. There are so many ways this word will have an application to my days. I usually pick a verb because I want it to instill action but this year, it can be a noun or a verb!

The watchword for 2023 is PRESENT. Several ways I anticipate applying this word is to be present when I am talking to people, especially loved ones, to stop and really give them my full attention. With all the distractions and interruptions that bombard me each day, this will be a real challenge. I want to fully engage and be present and absorb each moment–it is a gift.

Each day is a gift, a present to be embraced and fully spent. We have this moment, the present, and no other guarantee. No need to dwell on the past or worry about future concerns. This very moment is the present, the gift, the opportunity to fully take in. May I use each day with full abandon and with a heart full of appreciation for the very gift to have experienced it.

Also, I aim to become more aware of God’s loving Presence within me and in others, (okay a little spin on terminology but it isn’t a far stretch.) I want to be aware of His surrounding me, to feel those holy moments, and to respond with His wisdom and love.

I am looking forward to the further ways God will reveal meaning and guidance in this versatile watchword for the year. It never disappoints!