My 2023 Word of the Year: Surrender

I have always been a planner. From my daily activities to different kinds of events to significant life milestones, I love to have it all planned out. The joy I receive from successfully following through with my plan is unmatched. However, God’s plan doesn’t always coincide with mine and as much as I’d like to be okay with that, I’m not. If things don’t go according to plan, I get stressed, frustrated, and sometimes a little bit angry with God.

In late November 2022, I was involved in a car accident. Fortunately, I, and everyone involved, am completely fine but the accident has left me dealing with a lot of things that I hadn’t planned for. Lots of unexpected expenses and uncertainties arose about whether or not I was going to have to handle this without the help of my insurance. In trying to figure everything out, this accident consumed my life. Every single day for a month all I could think about was this accident and how it had changed everything.

I don’t want to get into the specifics of this accident (because trust me, it’s a lot), but something that bothered me so much during this time was how this accident affected the way I had planned out the next few years of my life. All of the expenses that came out of this accident were causing me to have to change plans and goals I had for myself which honestly was very hard for me. I was so excited about what was to come and it broke my heart that because of this one incident, my plans for myself were changing.

Why “Surrender”?

I know this may sound a little dramatic to some people, but for someone like me, who loves to plan everything, it was tough to let go of what I thought the next few years were going to look like. I began to fall into despair with the whole thing because it never seemed like it was going to get any better. If anything, it felt like with every passing day, the whole thing was getting worse and worse. However, Christmas Day came, and (as I mentioned in my first post) my heart changed.

The first week of Christmastide was definitely one of renewal of faith. During this week, I prayed more intentionally than I had in a while and I stumbled upon the Abundantly Yours podcast. The most recent episode of this podcast talked about discerning your word of the year and goals for 2023. Discerning a word of the year felt like it could be something very tangible for me so I started to pray with it and different words started running through my mind. But only one word repeated over and over again. Surrender.

By having “surrender” be my word of the year I hope to surrender control. Surrendering control means letting go of my plans and trusting that the Lord’s got it. This past month would have been a lot easier if I was able to surrender control to Him. This surrender of control applies to my future, my finances, dating and so much more. I’m in a period of transition and as much as I would love to know what’s coming next and from where, I can’t. My hope is that I can get to a point where I can surrender control in a way that not only allows me to place my trust in what God has planned, but to also allow Him into my planning and seeking His guidance.

The Blessed Mother as the Perfect Example

Over the past few years, I have grown a great devotion to the Blessed Mother. She helped me grow deeper in my faith and helped build my relationship with God the Father and God the Son. Now, going into this year, I will continue to seek her help as Mother and Educator to help me as I try to let go and surrender.

Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” These are the words spoken by Mary when she gave her fiat, her yes to bearing Christ into the world. Through this fiat, Mary trusted solely on the Lord every day through every thing. I know that it will be difficult for me to have the same trust that Mary had in the Lord but that is why I will look to her for her guidance so that she can teach me to trust the way she did. I will be carrying her words with me as I enter 2023, hoping that they may remind me of how much she trusted in the Lord every single day.

Thanks for Checking In!

If you’re reading this, I just want to say thank you for checking in! I’d like to invite you to open up the discernment for your own word of the year if you are feeling that call. I personally felt like a word of the year was a lot less daunting and less pressuring than a list of resolutions I tend to never keep.

Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to not only renew my faith but just enjoy life better than I had been. I will be praying for you all as well and I hope you have a beautiful week. Please stay tuned for upcoming posts!