This has been the first year that I chose a word to focus on and really felt like I persisted in seeking it out in my life. I guess it makes sense that I would stick with it, since I chose the word perseverance.
It's been hard in a lot of ways. I oftentimes sensed that I was being challenged simply because I chose that word. It's like when we pray for patience, and then we feel like God is giving us lots of opportunities where we feel our flesh wanting to be impatient.
I don't think it's that he's punishing us for focusing on a certain word-- like, don't pray about growing in perseverance or God will give you lots of really hard-to-finish tasks just to challenge you.
No, I think, rather, that we just are more sensitive to those opportunities because we've tuned our senses to that particular word. I probably didn't have any more opportunities to persevere than I normally would have for where I am in life, but I was keenly aware of them because I had honed in on improving in that area.
I've got a few weeks left in the year to wrap up a couple of things, and I'm sure there will be plenty of long days to endure through. In my last newsletter of the year, which I'm planning to send out soon, I'll share a bit more about what I've experienced this year. And then it's time to think of a new word to focus on. Can you believe we're approaching another new year here?