A word for 2023: Focus

 

Graphic from (in)courage.me

 I understand, and I'm sure most of my readers do also, that it's not a necessity to choose a word for a new year.  It's not in any way a practice that makes one any more spiritual, any more committed, or any more anything.  Vast numbers of believers don't choose a word for the year, nor do they need to.  I had never thought of doing such a thing until 2013.  I'd read in the past of others doing so and in 2013 I prayerfully considered it for myself.  That year I ended up with the word "Purpose".  I found it incredibly helpful throughout the year to zero in on God's purposes for me.

Each year since (except for 2022, when I just didn't feel led to do so), I have prayerfully chosen a word for the year.  Some times it has seemed as if God laid a particular word on my heart, and that has truly been the case this year.   He has impressed upon me without any doubt that my word for 2023 is to be "focus".  The word came instantly, a few days before the end of the old year. 

I don't feel as if I have lost my focus -- which, bottom line would be "all to the glory of God" -- but rather that my focus needs to be sharpened.  

 "Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."  (1 Corinthians 10:31)

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I knew I would want to use this word in both its noun and verb form as I consider it this year.  To begin I would need to look at definitions.  Below are the definitions for "focus" as a noun.

 For definition #1 we see that focus means "the center of interest or activity."  The central interest in my life should be God, and of course it radiates out from there.  All of the activity in my life should also be centered around His purposes for me.  As the definition goes on to say, I will want to concentrate on what God wants for me.

And then there is that definition #2 -- "the state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition."  I want to clearly look at God, at who He is,  at His purposes for my life, and make a clear plan for fulfilling them, with His help and in His strength.  

(Obviously, definition #3 is not one I would need to consider. )

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Back in 2010, I spent a few hours considering God's purposes for my life.  Taking into account God's purposes for all believers and for me in particular, I came up with a list which I wrote out and placed in my prayer journal.   Since doing that, I make it a point to review God's purposes for my life frequently, and always at the beginning of a new year.

God's overarching purpose for me is the same as for any believer: To bring honor and glory to God with my life by using the spiritual gifts and the talents He has equipped me with.    I have broken this down into a 3-part personal "job description":

1) Be a godly wife [this includes being a good homemaker]; mother, grandmother.

2) Use my teaching gifts and other spiritual gifts for God's glory -- to encourage fellow believers and help them to grow spiritually, and to reach out to those who don't yet know Him.

3) Use my writing talents and other talents to God's glory -- again, to encourage my fellow believers and to point others to Him. 

These things are to be my focus.   In her book God's Wisdom for a Woman's Life, in a chapter titled "I Need Help with My Purpose",  Elizabeth George wrote that "Busy women tend to bog down in the day-to-day matters of their lives and fail to understand how the work they are doing today fits into God's purpose for their lives and their futures.  We all forget to look beyond the moment with its urgency ... Instead we muddle through each day ... never comprehending its purpose and where it fits in the grand scheme of our life."  To me this quote gives a very accurate picture of how we can lose our focus.

2022 was a very challenging year for us, in a number of areas but especially with extended family concerns like my mother-in-law's deterioration in health, her admission to a nursing home and her eventual passing -- and also my work on the final land sale for my dad's trust.  Even though I sought every day to keep my focus on God's purposes for me, I know there were a number of days when I did muddle through without paying a lot of attention.

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And here are the definitions for "focus" as a verb.  

 

So for the verb meanings, definition #1 speaks to me in a couple of ways.  To adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly -- well, not to spiritualize things too much, but I think adapting my vision to the illuminating light of God's Word will help me be able to see more clearly.

Adjusting the focus is an important thought to me.  Most often my focus is on God, where it ought to be, but I need to fine-tune and sharpen my focus so that I am truly, intentionally, living out His purposes for me each and every day.  One thing I am focusing on this year is to improve my health and energy so that I am better able to serve God and others -- and most likely that will help me to think more clearly, also!

 And definition #2 -- to pay particular attention to what God wants me to do,  and to concentrate my thoughts on those things -- is obviously equally important.  It's really my reason for choosing this word -- along with the obvious fact that God inclined my heart to choose it.

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And then below we see the origin of the word "focus".  I'm including this because I thought it very interesting and meaningful.  In ancient times the "domestic hearth" was the focal point for the home.  And taking proper care of that "domestic hearth" is an important part of my purpose.  I'm seeking to take better care of my home and to live more frugally this year.

 

 And that is my word for 2023.  Have you chosen a word for this year?