Quiet – 2024 Word of the Year

Choosing a word of the year versus setting resolutions has been a practice for me since 2016. This practice has given me focus and intentionality as the year passes and, typically, gives me a way to reframe the way I see the happenings in my daily life. I don’t always get it right ALL YEAR but I do tend to come back to my word when I’m struggling and try to refocus and this has been a positive practice for me.

Most years, the word comes to me in the month leading up to the end of the prior year. I created habits in 2020 that let me feel free and 2021 the word treasure allowed me to retreat and heal some pieces inside myself as well as grieve pieces of my life that were ending. Choosing the word grow in 2022 led me to some realizations about myself and showed me the areas I was using as a crutch to prevent me from moving forward. As I focused on growing in 2022, I took a deep dive into healing my body from the inside out and learned alot about what it takes for this midlife body to function well. I read alot of non-fiction books that were inspiring and grew my mind but I was still not taking any action. In 2023 I set out to prepare my heart, mind, body for whatever God had planned for me and goodnes I had zero clue what was coming for me.

In November I spent some much needed time alone and I was stunned by how hard it was to quiet my mind. It wasn’t that I was thinking about big responsibilities but there was a lot of clutter; some positive and some not but for sure it was no way to relax. It was after that trip that I began to consider quiet as a word I needed in my life.

While I did make some progress in 2023 to prepare my heart for hard things and I became more prepared for work by creating a new schedule that worked so much better for me, I also let some things go that were important like preparing healthy meals and spending quiet time wiith God. Both had to make a comeback in 2024.

The first week of January I picked up the Bible Recap because after following in 2016 I knew it would keep me on track with spending daily time with God. I also re-started a devotional I had put aside. One thing I know for certain looking back on my life, God has never left me even when I did not intentionally seek Him out. Why then was I so surprised to see Him day after day right there on those pages seeking me and showing me what I needed most….QUIET. Verse after verse and even a reference to a song I had never heard were presented until I finally said out loud “okay God I get it!”.

One thing I’ve realized is that much of the clutter in my mind is often about things that are really not mine to hold. What would really happen if I sorted through the clutter and focused on those things that brought real purpose to my day instead. How much more free would my mind be to explore the more creative side again which I definitely long for. What might I actually be capable of if I could sit in the quiet and not feel anxious. Getting all the other thoughts out and onto paper has helped.

I will always be willing to open my home for my children but having adults move back home hasn’t been easy in a house that was no longer set up for extras.n Being quiet is hard when they have so much to share and say and you want to offer wise council. I’ve learned that I’m often thinking about what I want to say and how to fix a problem without really listening in the first place. Listening is not a strong trait and learning to be quiet and also quiet my mind and just listen is something I want to work on.

Do you ever hear others talk about God speaking to them and wonder how that reallly works? I wonder all the time what my real purpose is suppose to be and when God might finally reveal it to me. What I’ve realized is maybe I’ve been the same way with God I am with others. Maybe He is speaking and I’m just too busy trying to be in control to listen. I want to set aside my desire to chart the path and just have faith He will direct me.

For 31 days I have set aside dedicated quiet time. I’ve practiced quieting my mind when it begins jumping from one thing to another. My phone has been set aside a little more and I’ve even been able to take a few naps. Becoming a better listener may take a little longer to master but so many of my relationships deserve it!

Below I’m sharing just a few of the verses and a song that were presented to me over the last month leading me to feel certain my word of the year for 2024 was picked for me! Quiet. I’m looking forward to learning to love it.