sacrifice

noun

sac·​ri·​fice

1 : an act of offering to a deity something precious

2 : something offered in sacrifice

3: a: destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else

b: something given up or lost 

  Hard to believe we’ve turned another calendar year over. It was approximately 11:30 on New Year’s eve while spending a couple hours driving home that I realized. I was asking my husband some New Year related questions when it hit me that it was half an hour before the clock struck 12 and I hadn’t even once thought of what I wanted my word for the next year to be. Most years I’ve spent some time leading up to January praying and thinking on it. This time, hadn’t even occurred to me.

2022 was the year of Savor. Taking in the small moments. Enjoying the every day moments. Taking delight in to be able to fully appreciate. It was rather appropriate, I do believe. There were so many in betweens. So many times I wanted to just move forward. So much waiting. Hoping. Planning. Figuring. Praying. But I was learning. And many of those moments I do look back on fondly. But savoring takes intentionality. The week after we were engaged, we didn’t start planning, even though it would mean we had one less week. We spent one evening a week not allowing ourselves to talk about wedding stuff at all while we spent time together. We needed to just enjoy the moment. Enjoy us. And ya know, not stress, cry, worry, go crazy. That too. But there were hard moments too. Waiting to get engaged and just so looking forward to the next steps. But there was here and now to live in. 

Initially, at the beginning of the year, I had no idea where the year would lead, boy howdy, what a year! Hard to top this last one. But at the beginning of the year, not knowing what was in store, I had thought about seeing and savoring Christ. It was a year of sweet surrender. Of savoring my relationship with Jesus too. There were moments that I was a mess or didn’t know what to do. But He did. I reflect on one moment of giving up some very specific fears to God, and that moment changing everything. Of getting to treasure and bask in the goodness and kindness of Jesus. And so much peace. I’ll be savoring that for a long time. 

But! Hello 2023! I wasn’t ready for you, but I guess here we are. I honestly didn’t spend much time thinking over the word that I have now chosen, even after that drive. I thought ahead to what this year might ask of me; when I didn’t want to choose the word that came to mind, I knew it was probably the one. It’s the first year that I didn’t want a word of the year, and there has been some odd words that I only later would know the meaning to. 

So, without further ado: Sacrifice

Much comes to mind and I’m not sure all that it will entail, but the first being a sacrifice of praise. Like Jonah offered up from the belly of the whale thanksgiving and it was noted as his sacrifice of praise. Praise was his offering. So to I need to offer my praise and sometimes that will be my offering. And sometimes we’re the offering. I think there is deeper I need to go, and deeper He will take me when I’m willing to cut some things off, ready to dive in. To sacrifice little things to receive greater things. 

A living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual worship. 

So I don’t know what may come, but here I am.