January is often a month dedicated to making resolutions for the New Year. It’s meant to represent a fresh start. Unfortunately, many people, myself included, make goals that we hope and strive to meet but tend to give up after a few weeks.

This year I knew that I had to change how I began the New Year.

Recently at a team lunch we sat down and discussed what we are focusing on for the year ahead. Rather than make overly complex resolutions, we each chose a word to focus and pray on for the year ahead. Among the many suggestions were words like joy, consistency, and hope.

Originally, my word was going to be ‘Effort’. This had been in my mind since last October. However after a few failed mornings of getting up early in the morning, I chose to actually sit in prayer and ask God what he wanted me to focus on this year. That’s when I stumbled upon verses 13 and 14 from Psalm 139:

‘For it was you who created my inmost self,
and put me together in my mother’s womb;
for all these mysteries I thank you:
for the wonder of myself, for the wonder of your works.’

Psalm 139: 13-14

In some translations, the third line becomes:

‘I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’

Psalm 139: 14

As the eldest daughter of immigrant parents and a young woman growing up in a culture that demands to look and act a certain way to fit in, I grew up with this distorted belief that I need to earn love and that what I do equals to who I am.

But Psalm 139 tells a beautiful story of our God who knows and loves us, accompanying us every step of the way; in both the good moments and the challenging ones. He loved us first and created us as masterpieces. Our faith proves that we are created for good and are loved for just being.

In the end, I chose the word ‘Acceptance’.

This is the word that God gave me after reading and reflecting on that passage. I am a huge perfectionist, especially with myself. This year the Lord is calling on me to learn to accept myself and the situations that are out of my control. I know I can lean on him and trust him in every aspect of my life because he is there regardless of the situation.

What is your word for the year?

Zuzanna has been a member of the Youth Ministry’s Retreat Centre Team since 2022. Get in touch with her at zuzannatatarczyk@rcdow.org.uk.

Read more from the Team