My Word for 2021 + Reflecting on 2020

Hey friends! Happy January 12! Before the semester begins and life gets hectic again, I want to chat about 2021, and look back on the miraculous ways God used 2020 to grow and strengthen my faith. So grab your coffee or hot chocolate (or matcha if you're feeling ~spicy~. seriously that stuff is life changing!), cuddle up under a cozy blanket, and let's just dive right in!

For the year 2020, I prayed that God would give me a word that would transform my faith, push my out of my comfort zone, and lead me to something new to kick off the decade, so the word I chose was 'go.' I felt like, when the Lord laid that word on my heart that He was telling me that it's time to put my faith into action... boy, did 2020 challenge that.

Out of every way that the Lord taught me what it means to truly go, this was the biggest lesson of the year:

In the beginning of January 2020, I stepped into the college intern position at my home church. As the intern, I hoped to get a small glimpse of what it is like to work in full-time ministry, which is what I believed God was calling me to do at the time. I hoped for the opportunity to lead bible studies, organize a church event, or even preach a sermon at Overflow (our college worship service), or some other big move for the Kingdom. After all, the word I chose was 'go.' However, COVID-19 soon made a big difference in how my internship experience was going to look. What I thought would be my foot in the door to ministry turned in to my feet running up and down the sanctuary steps disinfecting pews, and putting up “do not sit in this row” signs. I was discouraged until I remembered the testimony that my youth pastor had shared about his first ministry experience--half assistant youth pastor, half janitor. He told us that while those days cleaning the church toilets and vacuuming the floors were not at all glamourous, he took advantage of cleaning each room in the church to pray over them. God may not be using him to speak to thousands or change a life. Most of the time, he was not even seen or appreciated by the church body, but he still chose to show up and allow himself to be available for God to use him. As my I showed up to my internship each week, I held onto his testimony. I decided to put my faith in Jesus, who is on the move even when everything else is still.

As I wiped down pews, switched the batteries in every remote in the church, stamped envelopes for mail-outs, and a plethora of other jobs, I made myself available; I prayed over the church. I prayed for the souls of the people who would sit in the pew I was cleaning every Sunday. I prayed for the babies in the nursery that I was changing the remote batteries for. I prayed that whatever they were going to watch would bless their eyes, and whatever they were listening to would bless their ears. I prayed for the youth as I vacuumed the carpet in the Student Building, that their feet would be upon the Rock, the firm foundation of Jesus. I prayed that their faith would grow deeper as they walked along the path that He had set before them. All that said, what I had hoped to learn did not strictly come to fruition, but what I learned was so much more valuable than I could have ever imagined:

I ended up learning that prayer is the most important way to put your faith into action because it directly bridges the gap between God and us, inviting Him into the moment and interceding on behalf of others, asking boldly for Him to move.

So friends: be that vessel. Be the servant that goes to the foot of the cross in prayer--it's important. If you want be used in the big, you have to be faithful in the small; in the midst of the storm.

This leads me to today: 2021. The word I've chosen to focus on for 2021 is 'gratitude.' As my prayer life was transformed in 2020 in a way that revealed God's faithfulness, I began to catch myself, toward the end of the year, apologizing to Him a lot. It almost felt like my sorrows were drowning out the simple truth that God is good and faithful. I felt myself beginning to lose sight of God's character for all the "I'm sorry's" that seemed to consume our conversations, and as I've written about in my previous blog post The Healing Power of Gratitude, the Lord broke down my walls. As I began praising Him for the grace He so freely gives, He revealed to me that gratitude heals shame and guilt because it opens our hearts to the forgiveness that is available to us.

Around that time, I had began praying about what word the Lord would have me choose to focus on in this year, and after that moment of realizing the freedom that comes with being thankful, the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, "you still have a lot to learn about gratitude." I felt very confidently at His word that he would use the word 'gratitude' to transform my faith in ways I can't begin to imagine in 2021, and I am so excited to see how He moves!

So, here's to a year full of praising God, accepting His grace and forgiveness, and letting thankfulness wash away my guilt and shame. I love y'all and I pray your 2021 will be full of joy, gratitude, and saturated in prayer!

Stay tuned for part two where I'll share my verses and song that I've chosen to focus on in 2021! Thank you so so much for reading, it means the world to me!

So so so much love,

Jess :)