My One Word

On the way to work last Monday, I was listening to K-LOVE and heard a really interesting story concerning the Web site, myoneword.org. Later that day, I decided to check it out for myself. The concept is pretty simple; rather than make a whole bunch of New Year Resolutions that will inevitably fall through, you commit yourself to live out one word for an entire year. The idea is that it is much easier to focus on a single element at least once every day than to tackle five things every day for a year.

This idea really intrigued me. I decided to participate, but how on earth could I pick ONE word. Immediately, words like "love, peace and hope" came to mind. They are beautiful words, but they just didn't feel right for me this year. I decided to pray on it for a couple of days and see what I came up with. Two days later I was laying in bed, tossing and turning, when it finally came to me; the word that kept coming to my mind over and over again: PURSUE. 

The biggest fear in my life is failure. The thought of not being enough is paralyzing to me. Admittedly, there have been times where I've had opportunities that I chose not to pursue, because it was easier to not know or act than to try and risk failure. I have missed out on a lot because of this.

Not this year. 

Graduating college and moving on to the next phase of my life is going to present a lot of opportunities, a lot of room to succeed and a ton of room to fail. It is my goal for this year to pursue them all. 

I have chosen to live a year in constant pursuance. I want to pursue opportunities. I want to pursue friendships. I want to pursue the heart of God, because I know that He is in constant pursuance of me. 

Right now I am in a state of 'wanting'. I want a lot of things. However, wanting does not translate into action. It is a state of mind that leaves you standing in the same place for as long as you are willing to stand there. However, I believe that we are not made to sit still. We are created to move, to follow, to pursue.

Just like in a dating relationship, when a man pursues the heart of his beloved, he is thoughtful, intentional and filled with purpose. He risks his pride and his heart, because succeeding will change his life forever. It is my hope to pursue life with this same fervency. 

I am looking forward to the challenge that my one word presents, one day at a time. 

Taylor

***If you chose ONE word for your year, what would it be and why?