My one little word for 2019 is thrive.
I was pretty sure it would be my word back in January, when I was wrapping up my reflections on grit, my word for 2018, and wondering what was next. I kept coming up to thrive and backing away from it. I was – I am – scared of what it might mean, the choices and changes it might require of me. But it dug in, quiet but insistent, and it wouldn’t leave me alone.
In the wake of a year that required so much grit, I wanted something more vibrant, more exciting – and thrive means, variously, to grow vigorously. To flourish. To walk forward unafraid. It’s tied to courage, as most of my words seem to be, but it also speaks of growth, of new possibilities, even of joy.
This has been a year of enormous challenge and change, and it’s not nearly over. There is a lot of grief and pain, a lot of asking questions and admitting hard truths. I started seeing a therapist in March, and I’ve been writing and running and talking with my people about all those things. I’ve generally had the sense that I need to reckon with what has been before (or at least while) beginning to ask what might be next. What it might mean to thrive, in this next chapter of my life.
I finally ordered a thrive talisman heart from Liz Lamoreux in early May, and it has sat on my bedside table (in three different apartments) ever since, a gentle reminder of what I’m hoping for. Thrive lived deep under the surface for a while this year, but like the plants I love so well, it is pushing up through the soil, coming up into the light.
As you know if you’ve spent much time here, I’ve been following a word each year since 2010, starting with brave, which took me on all sorts of journeys, including a cross-country move from Texas to Boston. I’m interested to see where thrive takes me, through the rest of this year and possibly beyond.
Are you following a word this year? If so, what is it teaching you?
cakes, tea and dreams 
I love this
Thrive is such an inspiring word when you’re adjusting to changes and challenges. I chose “accept” at the start of the year, my goal was to accept what is and what will be, and also to accept people as they are – I had no idea how prophetic it would turn out to be. ☺️ X
Oh, I love that. It’s a tough one sometimes! x
My word this year is: gift. I didn’t know it was my word until recently, but it keeps popping up everywhere and has been lingering in my subconscious for a while now and finally, I took notice. I use the word a lot now. Today is a gift. Words are a gift. Light is a gift. Hope is a gift. Thriving is a gift. Blessed be.
So many gifts. Your words are a gift. Thank you, Mikael.
“Small mercies” have popped up frequently in 2019; slowing down, taking notice, being mentally present to appreciate the small things and see God’s hand at work. I’m thankful you’re choosing to thrive in this season of transition and new beginnings!