Oh my gosh, I haven't written anything hardly at all this year!! I've been reading my old posts over the last few months and have reflected on my growth (and sometimes, setbacks) and then I just noticed I never shared here what my 2022 word of the year was (is)!
Every year for the last several years, I do a word of the year instead of specific "new years resolutions". For 2022, it's ALIGNMENT.
Originally, the word was going to be “connection”. But alignment is a broader term and can encompass connection. When we align our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with the agency, with the program, and with our values, we can also ensure we are properly connected to others.
Alignment within myself, with my values, with work, and in all that I do. I had done a full PPT presentation for my department at the beginning of the year focusing on this word, as I had done with the other prior two years during my (essentially) three-year tenure as a Director where I previously worked at. I loved doing those presentations--the "State of the Unions" that focused on the word of the year!
Having the word "alignment" has helped me anchor and reflect throughout the year on what I do and how I interact with people. It helps me check myself and see where I've grown and where I need to keep growing. I've done a lot of self-reflection and made a lot of changes this last year.
Alignment defined:
Position of agreement or alliance
Arranging in correct or appropriate relative positions
Identification/matching behavior, thoughts, etc of another
Integration or harmonization of practices within a group
There is a song that I heard for the first time this past week--"Deep Dive" by SEU Worship and I am totally hooked.
You don't want a surface relationship
You want more than this
Take me on a deep dive, deep dive into Your heart
Show me every detail, unveil all that You are
Oh, I don't want a surface relationship
Show me what's breaking Your heart
Even if it messes me up
'Cause I don't want to know You in part
I wanna know You, really know You
Those are the particular lyrics that really stand out to me. The holy God wants us to really know Him. Going beyond a surface relationship is intimate. I wrote about that in 2016. That continues to be one of the most standout things about being a Christ follower--that Christianity is about a God who comes to meet His people, rather than people having to figure out how to please God. And that He doesn't want us to just check boxes, or just do things "just because", or to even just "be good people". God wants an intimate relationship with each of us. And He invites each and every one of us and allows us to choose. Only by going deeper, do we better connect.
The other part that really sticks out is the "show me what's breaking Your heart, even if it messes me up". I've been thinking about so many things that are facing the Church and the world and I keep coming back to having a heart for God and a heart for people. And that God is bigger than every single thing in this world and I have been finding great comfort in that. And there are things I used to hold tightly onto and I'm learning that as I keep getting to know God, I learn that there are things that break His heart and it kind of messes up my thoughts. Over and over and over and over and over again, in all things, with all people, I keep coming to the anchor of having a heart for God and for people. That means. Love God. Love people. All people. Always. Forever. That includes every marginalized community. That includes every nation, every tribe, every tongue. God is so much bigger than us. And I continue to recognize and belive how much His heart breaks for so many people. And we, as the Church, should be stepping up and showing up.
I continue to come to the conclusion that there is nobody, in any circumstance, that can't be saved. The Gospel is offered to anyone and everyone. Yes, even them. Even now. The more I connect to Christ, the more I see how much His heart is for people and He wants all of us to know the Goodness of Him.
The Gospel isn't meant to chain us down or to limit what we can do in the world. It's meant to allow us to have an intimate relationship with the Creator. And what that means in our "earthly" beliefs, or politics, or decisions, or actions, or behaviors, or thoughts might look a little different for different people. As long as. It's anchored in Christ.
Stay anchored in Christ and have a heart for people. As I continue to do those things, my beliefs shift. I realize that I don't know is an honest answer for a lot of things. I also realize that it's not that I don't have a rock-solid foundation of beliefs--I just have built it all on the foundation of who God is. So then, with all my other beliefs--I (interestingly) actually become much more open.
As long as it doesn't take me away from the heart of Jesus, I follow science, I follow research, I follow logic, and rational thoughts. And I shift, I grow, I learn. I listen, I engage, I read. I find safe people to talk through controversial topics with or to dialogue about confusing things or to talk about different perspectives. And I have found that the more I do that, the more I come back to: my heart is for Jesus and for people.
And there are a lot of topics that the Bible isn't always super clear on--some may debate that, but the point is, if it can be debated, it's probably not super clear. But what the Bible IS clear on is that as Christ followers we are to show the following:
Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. -Galatians 5:22
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. -1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Pick any topic, any issue, and what I know for sure is that I'm supposed to do is be as reflective of those fruits and of that definition of love as I can be. And, I certainly don't always get it right. But I want to be a person where people can feel safe to have questions and wrestlings and confusion. Because I also have questions and wrestlings and confusion. Where you are, I want to meet you there. And I want you so desperately to know the heart of Jesus and have your own relationship with Him.
Conviction and compassion; truth and grace. It's the both/and world, not either/or. And for someone who historically thinks in right/wrong, black/white, either/or. It's been a journey. And. I don't always get it right--I really can't emphasize that enough! But I'm committed to lessening the frequency and duration of getting it wrong.
A few weeks ago, I got to curl up on a couch with a Pumpkin Spice Latte and talk with another leader who is wholly in love with Jesus. We were able to talk about the importance of genuineness, and authenticity, and how to navigate the tensions with "conviction and compassion". We talked about staying curious and maturing and growing in our relationship with Christ. We talked about striving to be healthy rather than perfect and what those differences are. We talked about the nuances that exist in the world and navigating the nuance and the gray with love and grace, while also staying anchored in the truth of the gospel. We talked about the importance of being in the "both/and" rather than the "either/or". We talked about the weight of leadership.
As a Church, we need to be recognizing and navigating the nuances of the world. And responding with conviction and compassion; staying anchored in Christ and having a heart for people. I'm so convinced that Jesus died for everyone and invites everyone into a relationship with Him. And that word "everyone" is just as inclusive as it sounds. What that specific relationship then looks like, may look different for different people. As long as what's made super clear (such as the fruits of the Spirit and what love looks like) and the belief that Jesus died and rose again isn't being distorted; I think the table is big enough for all who accept Jesus as their Savior. No matter who you are, what else you may believe, or how else you identify.
As I take deeper dives into the Word and get more intimate with God--my heart becomes more and more for Jesus and for people. And I keep seeing how much bigger God is than I am.
